Intersecting Points
by Seefs
Summary: When Mustang drags Ed into a mission that ultimately lands them in a world consumed by war and people who can bend the elements to their will, they're desperate to leave - but is it possible to do without interfering with a battle of destiny and fate?
1. Prologue

**Important: **_Please read this before continuing to the chapter!_ **This is an Avatar the Last Airbender / Fullmetal Alchemist crossover! If you don't know either of these titles, I strongly suggest you watch the series or look it up, otherwise you'll be massively confused! In the A:TLA universe, this fic takes place directly after the The Eclipse episode and at the start of the Western Air Temple episode. ****Also, the days until Sozin's Comet arrives have been extended, so I'm disregarding that canon. The comet should arrive, instead, in a week or two. It will be more defined as the story ****progresses.**** In the FMA universe, this takes place in the middle of the three year gap of when Edward joined the military (following the manga, or FMA:B), just to put him in the same age group as the gAang. This story is a take on an FMA character in the A:TLA universe. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Intersecting Points**

* * *

**Part I - 1**

* * *

_**Prologue**_

* * *

**/ " **_To want to understand is an attempt to recapture something we have lost._ **" /**

* * *

It was all Mustang's fault. That bastard.

The library was only a few yards away. Not even a few yards. Maybe less. It was so close. Edward could just _smell _the books – it's ancient to glossy new pages, it dusty to reflection clean covers. Research was there, just waiting for him to read them, discover then,_ learn _them. So close.

But then Colonel Shit had to come along and ruin everything.

The jerk had intercepted them on their way crossing the street in his stupid car. Ed even almost got hit if it wasn't for Al stopping him from taking another step forward and into his death. Ed had to wonder who the idiot was that granted Mustang the privilege to drive.

"Ah, Fullmetal." Mustang had said with his stupid smirk. "Perfect timing."

"That's it? Aren't you going to say _sorry _for almost _hitting _me with your car, you damn lunatic?"

"Oh? I guess I must not have noticed you _down _there."

And then Ed was off, screaming his lungs out as Al held him back from punching his superior officer in the face while Mustang just sat there in his car looking very smug and amused. Then Hawkeye, who sat besides the Colonel in the passenger seat, gave Mustang a disapproving look, and he sighed.

"Get in, Fullmetal. I've got work for you."

Ed was fuming by now, and he had a good reason to, too. Today was his day to relax. His day _off._ He just got back from a wild goose chase of a mission the day before, so he was justified to at least _one _day of peace. But _no_. Not on Mustang's watch. Nope. There was no relaxing while Mustang was around. God forbid.

So now he was sitting in the back seat with a scowl that he almost always had when Mustang was around. It was pure instinct to be upset whenever he saw that man. He always harbored catastrophe. He was the living symbolism of foreshadowed disaster.

They drove in relative silence, which annoyed Ed to no end. Mustang still hadn't even told him why the hell he was in this car in the first place! This guy was seriously pissing him off.

"If this is your idea of wasting time in the most idiotic way possible, you're doing a pretty good job at it," Ed suddenly snapped.

Mustang looked at him from the rear window with a raised eyebrow. "Wasting time? On the contrary, I'm_ benefiting_ your time, Fullmetal. You should be grateful."

Ed rolled his eyes at the Colonel's conceited tone. "Researching in the library with Al is benefiting my time; sitting in this stupid car with you is anything but!"

"You only say that because you don't know what the assignment is."

"That's because you haven't told me it, you lazy bastard!"

"As always, your patience is as short as you are," Mustang sighed.

Ed fumed at the word, flailing his limbs around as he screamed profanities at the top of his lungs. His automail foot slammed into the back of Roy's seat, making him jump and accidentally swerve the car. He regained control of the vehicle with a grunt. "Real mature."

"Sir, please concentrate on the road." Hawkeye said with a glare specifically for her superior officer.

"Of course you take his side," Mustang muttered sadly, ignoring Ed's exclamation of "yeah, learn to drive, asshole," from the back. He sighed loudly and shot a glance at Ed before looking back to the road.

"I received a call earlier today about a case that I thought might interest you, Fullmetal."

"Couldn't it have waited until tomorrow?" Ed grumbled. "I'm still sore from yesterday's stupid mission you assigned me to."

"Actually, no. This is one of those tasks that must be done before a time limit."

"Well, quit stalling and tell me what it is already!"

It was Hawkeye who answered, which Ed was grateful for because he knew that she always got down to business, unlike _someone. _

"A woman by the name of Lucille Finnegan had been making frequent calls to the police the past few days, complaining about her tenant, a Mr. Gavin Artfield, age twenty-two."

"What, are his parties too loud for the hag? I still don't see what this has to do with me, and why Al isn't with me."

"Patience, Fullmetal." Mustang said. "Continue, Lieutenant."

"Yes, sir. Over the last few days, the calls Mrs. Finnegan had been making revolved around Mr. Artfield, who she claims was doing something suspicious in his apartment room. When she tries to speak with him, he would mumble incoherent words and ignore her protests. She fears he may be mentally deranged."

"Alright, so he's insane. Why doesn't she just kick him out?"

Mustang answered him, "Ah, now this is where we get to the fun part. Mrs. Finnegan did try to kick him out, today actually, when we got the call. She says that when she walked into his room to discuss the arrangements of his eviction, the room was completely empty except for a large drawing on the ground. She described it as one of his _'alchemy nonsense'._"

"A transmutation circle," Ed breathed. He sat up, his attention quickly in their grasps. "Is it a human transmutation circle?"

"We're on our way to the apartment now to confirm that," Mustang said. "There's a high possibility that it might be, regarding his mental issues, no offense."

Ed didn't care.

"So then why do you need me? Don't you know that a human transmutation looks like?"

"Trust me, I know," Mustang said with a knowing look in his face. Hawkeye's features reflected his but she remained silent. "I just thought you might be interested in this. Mrs. Finnegan's description of the circle fit none of the ones I've ever heard of, so this new circle might be something that can aide you and your brother." He shrugged carelessly, "Like I said before, benefiting your time– Al does research in the library while you do yours at an insane man's home."

Ed thought it over as he sat back in the seat. What could this deranged man possibly be up to? Perhaps he _was _trying to bring somebody back from the dead. If that were the case, then Ed was just wasting his time. But what if it wasn't? What if it was a whole new transmutation circle that Ed's never seen before? This lunatic might have some knowledge that Ed was lacking. He could have _answers._

"Sounds fun."

* * *

Ed wished Al was with him, but Mustang made it clear that Alphonse would be too conspicuous and that it wasn't necessary for him to come because this task wouldn't take too long.

Still, Ed would have preferred it if his brother came along. Ed always took comfort in Al's staggering presence. It put him at ease and made him feel safe.

When they walked up to the apartment door, Ed felt his stomach curve in on itself. An ominous feel spread around him. Something didn't feel right. He could practically _sense_ it. It was as if a large blanket of looming dread wrapped itself around him as he walked in. He felt the uneasiness claw at his throat, and without Al by his side, he felt vulnerable.

Mustang walked in front of Hawkeye and Ed and climbed the stairs behind them. When he reached the first floor, a woman with horrid, curly, red hair hurled herself out of one of the doors.

"_Oh, _I'm so glad you soldiers came!" She shrieked. "It's Gavin – he wouldn't let me in! – The boy's gone _insane,_ I tell you!"

"Please calm down, Mrs. Finnegan," Mustang said, however his words fell on deaf ears.

She pulled at his hands frantically, "Hurry – _please_! The boy's going to_ kill _himself! He's not right – he's been screaming and yelling! He's going to hurt himself – he's – he's –"

"Be quiet, lady!" Ed said irritably, rubbing his ears from her high pitched cries. "How about you show us where he is instead of screaming like a banshee."

She looked at Ed oddly for a moment and then to the hall, "He's down there. The last room – 3-B."

Hawkeye pulled out her gun while Mustang slipped on his gloves and they stormed down the hall, Ed following in tow.

Mustang banged on the door hard. "Mr. Artfield, open this door!"

There was no answer. Mustang tried looking through the peephole but it was too dark and distorted to make anything out. No sounds came from the other side. He banged again, "Open this door, _immediately!"_

Hawkeye swiftly stepped between the door and the Colonel and shot at the key hole two – three times. The door knob fell out and was replaced with three holes. Mustang shot his lieutenant a wary look and pushed the door open.

They were met with an orange room. A lamp at the corner of the room desperately tried to fill the space with light as it struggled to stay lit while the bulb's power slowly died.

A man stood at the middle of the room, staring at them.

Mustang narrowed his eyes at the man, "Gavin Artfield, I presume?"

Artfield muttered under his breath, his hands shaking and his mouth moving at inhuman speed. That man did _not_ look right.

Even with the weak light, Ed was still able to see the large, transmutation circle that lay on the floor directly in front of them, neatly drawn in black paint. Ed was captivated by it's mysteriousness. He had never seen a circle like this before. Symbols were drawn precisely inside the circles, and the ancient letters framed the shapes. But upon closer inspection, his eyes widened.

"What the _hell_ is this!?" He yelled at Artfield, pointing to the circle. "This thing has elements of human transmutation! Are you out of your _mind?_ What are you trying to do?"

Artfield's mumbles became more distinguishable as he clawed at his hair feverishly, "hate it – hate _it ..._disgusting world – _I hate it _– leave … need to leave … leave. I hate it – hate _it _… I hate this life – leave –"

Mustang's eyes narrowed at Ed's proclamation, "Mr. Artfield, human transmutation is against the law, as I'm sure you are aware. I'm afraid I'm going to have to take you away for –"

"_NO!" _The man yelled hysterically, making Ed jump. "N-_no! _I'm leaving – _leaving! – I need _to leave! Can't stay. I _won't _stay. Disgusting – hideous – _ugly _world. I need to go to a new one – _new. _New life – not here. I need to _leave."_

Artfield fell to his knees, staring at his hands in dreadful fascination as he continued his demoniac ranting that made the hairs on Ed's neck stand. This guy was _beyond _insane! He looked like he was about to burst.

Then Ed saw how Artfield's hands shook even more violently and his gaze concentrated on the circle beneath his feet intensely. Ed's eyes widened and he mentally cursed.

"He's going to activate it!" He was able to strangle out as he darted to the crumbled man. _I have to stop him – I have to stop him! He's going to kill himself!_

He heard Mustang curse loudly, but his focus was on Artfield because he _needed _to stop this man and to _stop_ him from making the _same _mistake as he did because there was _no way_ anyone should go through _that _and Ed did _not _want to see that happen_ again_ and –

– but it was too late.

The man's hands were already on the ground and the room had turned a mortifying shade of red. Ed felt his stomach churn at the familiarity. _No_... he thought dreadfully. _Not again._

Mustang was yelling at him from behind while Artfield was laughing in front of him. A large eye opened up underneath his feet and looked as if it was staring directly at Ed. Ed couldn't help but stare back. Artfield's laughs grew louder and more hysterical. It was truly frightening.

Tiny swarms of black hands erupted from the ground like a swarm of bees. He watched as they picked apart at Artfield as the man yelled a chorus of "Take me away! Take me away! Take me aw–" until his whole body was taken away.

The static and power of the alchemy was loud and overwhelming and drowned out the sound of Mustang's calls for him. Ed wondered why Mustang would be shouting for _him_ until he realized that his _own _body was being teared up, piece by piece. He realized he was standing on the circle.

_Shit. _

A frantic sense of fear overpowered his mind as he tried – tried – _tried _to escape but couldn't. He struggled at the grasps but it futile. The last thing he saw before his vision was taken was a gloved hand reaching out for him but never succeeding.

* * *

"_Welcome back, Mister Al-che-mist." _

Ed couldn't feel anything.

He couldn't breath.

He couldn't see.

He felt so jumbled and disoriented.

Dread swam in his stomach.

He didn't want to be here.

He wanted to _leave. _

"_Oh? How naughty of you to ignore your host."_

He knew that voice.

He hated it.

No.

He couldn't be here.

He wanted out.

_Out. _

He had to go back to Al – he had to get out.

Why was he here?

Not here.

Of all places.

Not here.

"_Disrespectful guest."_

Fear ate away his sense of logic.

Anxiety disintegrated his senses.

Apprehension rendered him speechless.

Why was this happening to him _again_?

"_It's time I send you on your way, insolent fool. For the toll you payed, however, it's just a one way ticket."_

Something opened behind him – it let out gusts of disaster.

Pulling.

He was being pulled at.

It was the small hands again.

They were pulling him in.

Where?

_Where?_

He didn't want to go – he didn't want to die.

He struggled – kicked – thrashed – but the hands were relentless and they were pulling him in closer and Ed just _knew _that wherever they were taking him was _not good _and that he was definitely going to die and that this was the end for him and –

"_Have a fun trip, Al-che-mist boy."_

* * *

When Ed came to, he was confused for a second. He couldn't remember anything. He couldn't see anything. either. But he didn't mind. If his brain was working and he was able to think, then that means he was alive. Being alive was a good thing.

But what happened to him? All he could remember was some yelling, weird lightning, more yelling, whiteness –

Oh.

Right.

The circle.

Not even given time to further dive into his memories, or to check if all his limbs are intact, just like how fast the lights flicker on, he was given vision again, and he saw the sky.

He must have landed outside somewhere, his original thought was, which was far from true. It took him a second to realize that he was actually _falling _to the ground, and did some panicked, spastic movements to keep from landing on his back.

That was a mistake.

Whatever position he was in in the air ruined him on the ground. Ed's feet touched the ground first, and much to his dismay, his flesh foot did a sort of painful _popping _sound. He didn't know how high up he was originally, but the damage was done regardless. Right when his foot made contact with the ground, he crumbled down like a sack of potatoes.

He groaned and rolled pathetically on the ground, clutching his right ankle.

"Shit," Ed hissed bitterly. He took off his boot and grimaced. The side of his foot was an angry red, pulsing painfully. God _damn, _it hurt. He could just imagine how bruised up and disgusting it'll look the next day.

Oh, how wonderful his luck was.

He was _really _sure that the Truth hated him by now. Or at least, was annoyed with him. He'd opened up the Gate so many times now that the Truth was just plain sick of him. It was understandable; Ed didn't mind. In all honesty, he was sick of seeing the Truth, too.

Wherever that freaky bastard dumped him, Ed was positive it was out of spite. That white weirdo probably held a grudge on him for disturbing the peace and quiet in the Gate – well, there really was no peace there, but regardless.

Ed huffed and stood up, only to stagger and fall when he applied pressure on his right foot. He cursed – loudly.

"Stupid _foot," _he shouted at his ankle. "Stupid _Truth – _stupid _Gate – _stupid insane _jerks – _stupid _Mustang _–!"

He stopped himself. Mustang. He got up and looked around, but he was alone.

Where was Mustang? Where was Hawkeye? Where was _he?_

He realized now how absolutely _hot _it was. He squinted at the sun's glare. He wasn't in a desert – although it sure as hell _felt _like one – since there were patches of grass everywhere. The ground was rocky and he could spot mountains from afar.

Wait, _what the hell?_

He was _just _in the middle of East City, for crying out loud! He was in an apartment – in _civilization. _How the _in the world _did he end up in the middle of nowhere?

Where the _hell _was he?

Moreover, how the _hell _did he get here.

"_It's time I send you on your way, insolent fool."_

The Gate. The Truth. He – _it _said that. Did that white bastard send him here? Ed groaned. This was_ way_ too confusing.

He took another go at trying to walk and ended up limping to a large rock and sitting himself down with a huff. He felt like an elderly man with bitter bones.

It had to be the Gate. It _definitely _sent him here. If that were the case, then, what the hell kind of circle did Artfield _make? _That psychotic freak was probably planning this whole thing! Ed quickly picked up his head and looked around. Artfield – he should be here, too. Ed saw him get taken.

"_For the toll you payed, however, it's just a one way ticket."_

Ed froze at the memory.

_A toll. _

What if … the toll was Artfield?

Ed had all his limbs still connected to his body, and it didn't _feel _like he was missing something from the inside. So what if Artfield, _whole_, was the toll?

Ed swallowed thickly. He _was _standing in the middle of the circle, so maybe the Gate mistook him as the toll and Ed as the activator...

Ed grit his teeth and grimaced. It took the _whole life_ of_ one man_ to send Edward to the middle of nowhere. That man was probably working his whole life on this theory for the circle, only to have his life taken and his work wasted on Ed.

Ed bit his lip. He _really _wished he wasn't here.

Well, wherever _here _was.

Ed closed his eyes. He had to think. No time to mull over unnecessary things; he could do that later. Right now, he had to put his brain into full use. He had to remember.

If Artfield _was _the toll … and the transmutation circle _was _to transport Ed to another destination … then, wasn't the price a little _too excessive?_

Sure, the Truth guy was a freaky fella and all, but he – it followed the laws of alchemy – equivalent exchange.

The life of one man did not equal the transportation of half of another.

Something didn't feel right. Ed was missing something. He had to think. He had to _remember. _

And then it hit him – hard.

_Mustang. _

Mustang was there, with him. When the transmutation circle activated, Ed remembered hearing the Colonel shouting for him. What if he had chased after Ed when it activated, trying to pull him back.

A memory of a white gloved hand flashed through Ed's eyes.

Ed moaned in horror and cradled his head.

What if Mustang was caught in the transmutation?

What if Mustang was _also _sent here?

What if Mustang was the _toll _to send Edward and Artfield here?

What if Mustang _and _Artfield were _both _the tolls?

Ed hit himself on the head repeatedly – _stop it, stop thinking about these things. _

"Hey! You!"

Ed's head shot up, cracking his neck. He looked around and saw a short girl walking towards him. He mentally groaned; he was _not _in the mood for socializing.

But wait. Maybe he could get some information out of this girl. Find out his location and get himself back to East City to make sure Mustang was in one piece. Alright, he'll entertain her then.

The girl stood in front of him, crossing her arms. Her long bangs shadowed half of her face, and with the lighting from the sun, it gave her a sort of menacing appearance.

"Who are you and how did you get here," she demanded before Ed could even let words come out of his open mouth.

His eyes narrowed. Well, _that _was rude. "Who are _you?" _He shot back with the same attitude.

"I asked you first."

"I asked you second!"

"I'm not answering until you tell me."

"Then why should I answer, then? Hm?"

The girl snarled at him. "Listen, punk. Two minutes ago there was nobody here and then all of a sudden – poof! – you_ magically_ appear. Did you follow us? Did the Fire Nation drop you off to capture us? Did Zuko send you?"

"Whoa, whoa!" Ed said, holding his arms out. "What the hell are all these accusations for?"

"I have the right to accuse suspicious people," she shrugged. "And _you're _looking pretty suspicious to me right now."

"I _just _got here and I don't even _know _where _here _is!" Ed exclaimed. "And the first thing I get is a bunch of _nameless _accusations for shit I didn't even do from some puny little girl!"

"_Puny?"_ she echoed angrily. "How about I put your head six feet in the ground and_ then _we'll see who's the puny one here!"

Ed stood up, trying to use his height to intimidate the girl – although he didn't have that many inches over here – and pointed at her, "What did you call m – _ow, ow, ow!_"

Much to his embarrassment, his ankle had decided to not function for him and he tripped on himself and fell face first to the ground, his nose almost touching the girl's feet – to which, he noticed revoltingly, were barefoot.

To his amusement, the girl started barking with laughter. "Ha, ha! You're the most pathetic guy I've ever seen! And I've seen _a lot." _

"Shut up," Ed halfheartedly muttered, looking over his leg with a wince. It was bruising up pretty quickly.

"I can't believe the Fire Nation let someone like _you _into their force! They must be desperate!"

Ed rolled his eyes. "Fire Nation? What kind of kid talk is that?" He eyed the girl with a glare. Judging by those weird green garments, he must be in some foreign land. Probably Xing.

Surprisingly, the girl stopped laughing almost instantly. "You're not from the Fire Nation?"

"No!" He said automatically."I'm from Amestris."

It was the girl's turn to look confused. "Ame...stris? Where's that? I've never heard of it."

Ed sputtered. Was this girl _stupid? _"How could you _not _know where Amestris is! It's huge with a powerful military and extremely well known, and quite famous, as a matter of fact." He picked his chin up in a little pride, "What kind of backwards place are _you _from that you don't know where Amestris is?"

The girl hesitated for a second but answered regardless, "I'm from Gaoling."

"Where's that?"

"It's a big town in the Earth Kingdom," she elaborated.

It didn't help, though. "Earth Kingdom? Where's _that?"_

"Don't play dumb with me!" She suddenly barked at him.

Ed jumped and cowered where he sat. This girl can be pretty scary pretty fast. "I-I'm not! Jeez, what's with you!"

"What's with _you? _Asking stupid questions like _'Where's the Earth Kingdom?'."_

"Hey! I don't sound like that! And it's a legitimate question! You're the one who's asking stupid questions like _'Amestris? Where's that?'._"

"I don't sound like that!" She yelled back. Then she breathed out through her nose loudly and frowned. "You really don't know where the Earth Kingdom is?" she asked skeptically, her mood completely changing.

"No!" Ed said. "I mean, yes! I mean – argh! I _don't know _where the Earth Kingdom is."

"You're lying." she said defiantly.

"I'm not lying!" He sneered.

He watched as she faltered and her face took on a shocked one. "You're … not lying?"

"I'm not! I'm telling the truth!"

She was silent. He watched her as her face remained postured and unmoving. Her stance seemed to stiffen and from his vantage point, he can see her feet suddenly tense, her toes clawing into the ground. Then, "Oh."

"Oh?"

"So you don't know where the Earth Kingdom is?"

"No," he said exasperatedly, running a hand down his face.

"Are you from the Fire Nation?"

"No."

"So you aren't with the Fire Nation? You're not one of their soldiers?"

"No! What the hell – are you interrogating me or something?"

"Yes," she huffed. "So unless you don't want me to smash a boulder in your gut, you'll answer my questions without interrupting."

Ed growled under his breath. The nerve of this girl! Who the hell did she think she was? But then he sighed. She acted so commanding and authoritative, so maybe gaining her trust could be a good thing. He could reverse the situation and get information out of _her. _

The girl continued with arms crossed. "Do you know where you are, then?"

"No."

"Do you know where you're from?"

"Yes – I just told you! I'm from Amestris."

"Never heard of it." Then before Ed could speak up, she continued, "So why are you here?"

"The hell should I know. I just got dumped here."

"_Dumped _here? By what, the stork?"

Ed rolled his eyes. "It's like you said before, two minutes ago, nobody was here, then – poof – here I am."

She put her hands on her hips thoughtfully, "So you're not here to capture us..."

"Why would I _capture _you? I don't even know you!"

"So either you're amnesiac or an idiot."

"I'm not amnesiac. I know my name and everything."

She sighed, "I guess you're an idiot, idiot."

"I'm not an idiot!" Ed fumed.

She snorted. "Right, because _smart _people don't know about the elemental nations."

"You're the idiot who doesn't know where _Amestris _is!"

The girl scoffed. "You're hopeless. And quit sitting on the floor like that – it makes you look pathetic."

This girl was _seriously _getting on his nerves. "As you can see, I messed up my foot so I'm pretty content on the ground."

"Actually, no, I can't see, idiot."

"Huh?"

The girl looked at him disbelievingly and then waved a hand in front of her face. "_Hello!_ I'm blind."

Ed cocked his head in confusion and looked at her face contently. Then he noticed that behind those strings of bangs were her eyes, dull and hazy and unfocused. "Holy shit, you're blind!"

She smacked herself on the forehead. "Of course I'm blind, you idiot! Do you think _everyone's _eyes look like this?"

"Sorry! Your bangs were covering them, I couldn't see them!" Ed defended. "And besides, you're blind. How would you know what your eyes look like?" Ed paused and then suddenly spoke up louder, "And wait! How did you know I was here! And how did you know I was sitting down! You're not blind, you liar!"

"I'm not lying! Who the hell would _lie _about being blind?" She said. "For your information, idiot, I can _feel _the vibrations by smacking my foot on the ground, which helps me 'see'."

Ed's eyes magnified in size. "R-_Really?" _He asked in awe. "That's amazing! Holy crap!"

The girl looked a little taken back by the sudden compliment and couldn't help but smirk. "I know."

"So you can feel the vibrations of everything around you? Can you tell its size and shape, too? That's so impressive! You're like a bat – no, even cooler than a bat! Damn, you're amazing!"

The girl couldn't help but proudly chuckle at how amazed his voice sounded (although she was a little surprised herself at how she compared him to a _bat. _Weird.). Her shoulders relaxed and the threatening atmosphere she felt before vanished. "So you're really not with the Fire Nation?"

"For the last time, _no."_

She frowned. Then, she sheepishly scratched the back of her head and looked away. "Oh. Well, sorry then, for, you know, getting on your case and all. I'm just paranoid and stuff."

Ed relaxed and finally felt a little less restrained. He was a little skeptical and confused at how quickly she believed him and let her guard relax though. She must have next to no trust issues what's so ever. He didn't know whether to take that as a good thing or not.

Regardless, he waved off her apology. "Nah, it's fine." He sighed loudly and looked around with a sad frown. "So, where _am _I?"

"You really don't know?"

Ed gave her a look that read, "really?" but quickly remembered that she was blind so he just asked it out loud.

"You're in the Air Nomad territory."

"Um?"

"The Western Air Temple." She clarified.

"Um?"

"It's between the East Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation."

"Um?"

"On the planet Earth!" She groaned irritably, "Seriously, how do you _not _know!"

Ed opened his mouth to retaliate with the same argument he used less than a minute ago but then quickly shut it in realization. He looked at the girl with wide eyes. "Okay, back up. So _you_ really don't know where Amestris is?"

"Oh, so now you're interrogating _me?"_

"Just answer!"

She scrunched her nose. "No, I've never heard of it."

"How about Xing?"

"No."

"Drachma?"

"Nope."

"Ishbal?"

"No, sorry."

Ed held his head in his hands. "...you don't know any of the countries I know and I don't know any of the countries you know" he mumbled. This isn't making any sense! The only logical explanation is that one of them is completely out of their mind and have lost it and are making up countries to feed their ravaging imagination.

Unless_...!_

"What's wrong? Why are you quiet? Don't ignore me, idiot!"

He ignored her.

If he's in a land he'd never heard of then … was that what the Truth was planning? When it said it was going to _'send him on his way_'? But where exactly _did _it send him, if he's not in Amestris, or in a country he's ever heard of?

Artfield!

This is Artfield's circle! Ed almost chocked on the realization.

"_I'm leaving – leaving! – I need to leave! Can't stay. I won't stay. Disgusting – hideous – ugly world. I need to go to a new one – new. New life – not here. I need to leave."_

That's what he was saying. That he was leaving. New life. New _world. _

"Hey! Listen to me."

Ed swallowed thickly. He could almost laugh at his predicament. "I think..." he rasped, covering his face with his hand. "I think I'm a _long _way from home."

Then he did chuckle, because the next thing that popped into his mind was Mustang's smug face and all he could think of was was that it was all Mustang's fault.

* * *

**Author's note: **Welcome to this story! I decide to write this because I was disappointed with the lack of avatar/fma crossovers on this site. I mean, these two shows have lots of similarities and similar concepts and I was really surprised at how empty the crossover fandom of it was so – I wrote one! It might not be good because I have no precedent to base it on, but I'll try. The story will drift from canon at some points, but hey, this is a crossover; it's bound to happen. Anyways, enough of my ramblings. I hope you all enjoyed this _long _chapter and please leave a review with feedback and advice and what not! Thanks for reading.

* * *

_**Part II: First Impressions. **_

_First impressions are very important and depend on how you present yourself, and yet, Ed seems to already have screwed that up somehow. _


	2. First Impressions

**Intersecting Points**

* * *

**Part I - 2**

* * *

_**First Impressions**_

* * *

_**/ "** It's pretty simple, pretty obvious: that people's first impressions of people are really a big mistake. **" /**_

* * *

Ed was jerked out of his thoughts when a foot ultimately placed itself on his face. He fell back in disgust and stuck his tongue out, "Blagh! What the hell – that's gross! What was that for?"

"For ignoring me," the girl huffed.

Oh, right. She was still here.

He was so absorbed by his own thoughts that he completely forgot about her presence. He looked up at the sky and down at the ground. It was so familiar yet so unknown. It was all the same, but then it _wasn't._ If his theory was correct and he _was _actually stuck in some other world, then he was, put simply, s_crewed. _

Everything was so messed up.

"So, what's your name?" The girl asked, plopping down in front of him. Her knees were tucked underneath her chin and he took note at how she had her feet placed flatly on the ground.

"Edward Elric," he sighed. There was no point in hiding information, he supposed. He was in some far away place, it's not like some little girl could be dangerous or anything. Besides, it's not like she would know who he was considering she didn't even know about Amestris. "Just call me Ed."

"Ed, huh?" she said, tasting the name. "Weird."

Ed bristled, "My name's not weird! What's your name, then? Hm?"

"Toph," she said simply.

"Tough?"

"_Toph."_

"See, now _that's _a weird name," Ed proclaimed.

He watched as Toph rolled her eyes. It was so strange; he'd never met a blind person before, much less seen their eyes. It was really … strange.

"One more stupid thing from you and I'll shove a rock the size of my fist down your throat," she said simply.

She had said that statement so carelessly that for a second Edward actually believed that she _could _do it. "You started it!"

"You're such a brat." She laughed.

"I am not!" he fumed. "I'm taller than you!"

"Doubt it," she said with a smirk. Ed felt his face turn red. _That little...! _She was enjoying this! She was just as bad as Colonel Mustang, only bolder since she was a girl and Ed couldn't punch her in the face (Well, he couldn't really do that to Mustang either since he was his superior officer and all but _still.)_

"Alright, then! Stand up, we'll see," He said. Her face was so full of amusement that it royally pissed him off.

However, when they both did stand, Ed bit back a cry as his ankle suddenly decided to hurt like a bitch when he put pressure on it. He hopped on one foot like a handicapped pigeon and felt his pride take a blow in the stomach.

"What's wrong with your leg?" Toph asked curiously.

Ed sat back down and gingerly rested his palm on the now purple bruise on the side of his foot. "I think I sprained it or something, I'm not sure."

"No," the girl said. "Not that leg. The _other _one."

Ed looked at her oddly, "What do you mean?"

Toph face scrunched up as she thought of the right words to pick and use. "It feels … weird. Like – it's texture is so smooth; not like flesh – your right arm, too. Almost metal."

Crap. How the hell did she find out? Did she really figure it out just by using the vibrations and all? No, that's impossible. It wasn't possible … was it? To just stomp your feet and _feel _your surroundings … that didn't sound possible. Ed suddenly felt extremely self-conscious about his limbs. What if this world didn't have automail – how would he explain that?

"I'll tell you if you tell me about how you use the vibrations," Ed said slowly.

Toph shrugged like it was no big deal, "Alright," She sat back down in front if him.

Ed waited. "Well?"

"I asked first," she said. "You tell me _then _I'll tell you."

Oh, how much this girl _annoyed_ him. He gave up. "Fine," he muttered. "It's automail."

"What is?"

"My arm and leg. It's _called_ automail."

"What's that?"

Thought so. So there wasn't any automail here. "It's steel prosthetic limbs– where I'm from, it's pretty normal to have them."

The girl's eyes widened, "_Steel?_"

Ed nodded, "Yeah."

"But – your arm moved just like the flesh one; I felt your fingers curl and everything! Prosthetic limbs don't – _can't _move like that."

"Well, it's not like the normal plastic or wooden ones," Ed said, remembering the whole speech Winry had nailed into his brain when she explained it. "I can control it like a normal hand because it's connected to my nervous system and it receives electrical pulses from the nerves to power and regulate the electric motors and pneumatic actuators inside. Same with my leg."

"Whoa," Toph breathed, but Ed was pretty sure she didn't understand most of it. Hell, he still didn't understand most of it. "I think I've felt the same thing on that Combustion Man..."

"Combustion Man?"

"Long story."

Toph reached her hand out but then stopped herself. She looked at Ed hesitantly and asked, "Um … can I?"

"Sure," and he rolled up his pants' sleeve and watched with little amusement at how amazed Toph was as she felt his armored leg.

"This is so cool."

Ed snorted.

"Isn't it heavy, though?"

He shrugged, "A little, but I don't mind."

"Who makes these?"

"A lot of people, you know, engineers and the like. My friend made me this one."

Toph made a reach for his automail hand and Ed allowed her, a little uncomfortable at the close proximity, though. He was really glad she couldn't see, because he was pretty sure his flushed face was beyond embarrassing.

"So how'd you lose them?" Toph asked innocently. "Your arm and leg, I mean."

Ed felt his stomach go cold for a moment. "I..." he stuttered. Memories flashed like lightning in his mind. "It was an accident."

"What kind of accident makes you lose an arm and a leg?"

"A bad one," he suddenly snapped irritably, pulling his arm away from her quickly. He turned away.

She could probably feel the sudden change in atmosphere, because she recoiled where she sat and mumbled a small, "Sorry."

Ed rubbed at his automail port on his shoulder, ignoring her apology. The memories of _that _night were quick to come at him, and he was not in the mood to relive that horror. Just thinking about it made his blood run cold and heavy.

He tried to distract himself, "Alright, I answered your question, now you answer mine."

"About how I felt your auto-whatever limbs?"

"Yeah."

She shrugged easily. "I used earthbending."

"You … bend the earth?" Ed asked slowly. "Like, with alchemy?"

The girl squinted her eyes at him. "No … like bending the earth with _earthbending_."

Ed stared at her, "Is that what you call alchemy here? Earthbending?"

Toph frowned at him. "You've … never heard of earthbending?"

"Not really, no."

"Wow, you _are _an idiot." She said with a convinced nod.

"I am _not!_" Ed defended quickly. "I'm actually _really _smart, for your information."

She snorted. "How can you be smart if you don't know what earthbending is? _Everyone _on this planet knows what it is! A _baby _even knows!" She paused and then crossed her arms, looking very suspicious. "You know, you seem to not know _a lot _of stuff."

"Yeah, well … like I said, I'm a long way from home."

She shook her head, unconvinced. "No … you _really _don't know a lot of stuff. Well-known stuff. _Common knowledge." _She tapped her chin with her finger thoughtfully, "Are you _sure _you don't have amnesia?"

Ed growled at the question, "_yes."_

"You're strange," she hummed lowly to herself, but loud enough for Edward to hear. "_Very _strange."

"If you look at it from _my _vantage point, _you're _the strange one," Ed said.

Toph stared at him with a strange look on her face; like she was studying him and doing some calculations in her head. Ed felt a little uncomfortable at the sudden silence and felt himself sweat, although that may just be from the heat.

Suddenly, Toph stood up, and for a second Ed thought she was leaving. But she stayed in place, picking her foot up and then slamming it to the ground. The instant her foot hit the floor, a boulder the same height as her sprung up from the ground.

The shock on Ed's face was almost comical. He yelped and fell back at the sudden presence of the rock.

"How – _how the hell did you do that!?" _He all but shouted.

She flicked her wrist and another, but smaller, boulder erupted from the ground. Ed was aware that he was gaping but couldn't help himself. He was literally _speechless. _

"How! _How?" _He cried, regaining the use of his vocal cords . "How the _hell _did you do that without a circle? You didn't even _clap _your hands – there's no _circle!_ That's not _possible._"

Toph pursed her lips at his surprise. "Over here, this is normal," she said evenly. "Earthbending, firebending, waterbending – all normal. Even a non-bender wouldn't be so shocked to see this. But you – you're not normal. You don't know about this country or about bending – you're _all _kinds of wrong."

Ed visibly flinched at her words. His mind raced with thoughts that frantically pushed at his skull. She manipulated the earth without a circle – without any proof of alchemy. There were no signs of a transmutation occurring. She said it was _earth_bending – that there was also water and firebending...

_Where the hell was he?_

Ed felt a little suffocated by Toph's glare. They were right back in the beginning – when she was suspicious of him. Great. However, it was about time he _matched _her and showed her that it was time _he _got some answers.

Ed clapped his hands and flattened them on the ground and easily transmuted a boulder similar to the one Toph created. She blinked at him. "That … was weird." She reached over and touched his creation, "You … it was like the ground _dissolved _and then put itself together. That's not earthbending … what _was that?"_

Ed smirked victoriously and with a sly smile, he said, "Where I'm from, this is _normal. _Deconstruction, reconstruction, alchemy – all normal. Even a non alchemist wouldn't be so shocked to see this. But you –"

"Alright, _alright, _I get it," Toph said loudly, then muttered. "Wise ass."

His smirk broadened. Then he recollected himself and asked seriously, "You've really never seen – er – heard of alchemy before?"

"No," she said. "But that's basically what earthbending is."

"But you were surprised that the earth dissolved."

"So?"

"But that's what alchemy does. Earthbending doesn't do that?"

"Well, no, it doesn't." She confirmed. "Earthbending is more _manipulation _and _controlling_ the earth."

"What about firebending and waterbending?" Ed asked, genuinely curious.

"It's pretty much the same – controlling water and fire."

"So you can make fire the same way you just made that rock?" Ed asked, thinking about Mustang and how he'd be oh so giddy to find new ways to improve his fire alchemy. That pyromaniac.

"_I _can't," Toph emphasized. "I'm an earthbender. Only firebenders make fire."

"Wait – you can _just_ bend earth? And firebenders bend fire? And waterbenders bend water?"

"Is this what you meant when you said you were _really _smart?" Toph asked sarcastically. "Yes, one person to one element, basically. Or one person to no element – normal people." She turned the questions to him, "But what about _you? _What was that thing you did?"

Ed smiled, absolutely delighted to explain. "Ah, that's called _alchemy. _It's the science of altering matter by using natural energy and follows the sequence of comprehension, deconstruction, and reconstruction, which are the mandatory steps of creating a transmutation."

Toph simply blinked at him slowly. Then, she said, "Okay … from what I understood – which wasn't a lot – it's pretty much bending."

Ed's face fell. He was kind of hoping she'd be impressed, not helplessly lost. He sighed at her simple mindedness, "If you look at it that way, yes. Except I'm not limited to one element, like you guys."

"So you can bend _anything?"_

"It's not just _bending. _It's also _creating _and _reshaping._"

"That's just like ..." she trailed off and Ed took pride in making her speechless. She closed her mouth then opened it again, "So, where you're from, _everyone _can do it?"

"Not _everyone, _per se. Just those that study it and are smart enough to get it."

Toph made a sort of "psh" sound and said, "not smart enough if an idiot like _you _can learn it."

Ed almost pouted – almost, "Hey! I'll have you know that where I come from, people call me a _genius._"

"A genius at being an idiot."

Ed growled and crossed his arms annoyingly. He studied the girl, who suddenly seemed to have a faraway look on her face. Quietly, she said, "But still … it's so weird. How I don't know anything about your alchemy or where you came from and you don't know anything about my bending or the elemental nations … it's like you're from another _world."_

Ed blanched, "...you have no idea."

Another world.

It couldn't be possible.

Could it?

His train of thought quickly led him back to the image of Artfield standing in that weakly lit room. That bastard wanted to go to another world – whether that was the insanity talking or not, he had it in his mind _to go to another world. _The whole concept of it was just outrageous, but here he was.

Why do all the weird things have to happen to _him?_

If only Alphonse were here. Al could help him think – could help him distract this girl so he wouldn't talk to her – could just simply_ help_ him.

Al.

Just the thought of his brother pulled at his gut. Al – all alone in Amestris. _All alone. _

Ed's eyes widened.

He'd left Alphonse _all alone_.

Something physically pulled at his insides. He felt his heart being compressed by invisible, devastatingly horrible hands.

What if he was stuck in this world? Unable to get back? What if Al was just sitting there, waiting for Ed to come back? Waiting – waiting – waiting – _waiting – waiting – ! _Waiting in that goddamned armored body that can't feel or eat or sleep – forever expressionless in that cold, cold armor.

Ed stood up quickly, surprising Toph. He didn't have time to sit here and talk to her and mull over his predicament. He had to do something – he had to go _back. _

"Ed? What's wrong?" Toph asked – or more like demanded. Her voice was so rough and commanding, it really didn't fit her image.

"I need to go," he grit out, ignoring the searing pain pulsing from his foot and limped the opposite direction he was facing.

Toph followed him. "Where? To that imaginary country of yours?"

"It's not imaginary!" He suddenly snapped, unable to tolerate the questions and the god damn pain combined. "It's real! Just how my brother who's there waiting for me is _real! _It's all _real _and I need to go back."

"How?" She asked. Ed stopped.

How?

_How?_

The answer hit hard like a bullet from a shotgun.

How?

_He didn't know. _

"I'll figure something out," he muttered, continuing his walking away.

"At least let me take you to someone who can fix your leg," Toph urged.

Ed shook his head, "No. I can't waste anymore time."

Toph stamped her feet and a wall rose in front of Ed. He almost fell back from pure surprise. He'll _never _be able to get used to that.

"You're wasting time by just limping around like a monkeypigeon!" Toph shouted irritably.

"Well, what do you want from me?" Ed shot back.

"I want you to stop being an idiot for a second and_ think," _she hissed. "Walking around with a busted foot in an unfamiliar country with absolutely no knowledge of your surroundings with no one to help you will definitely get you killed in less than three minutes."

"I don't need some snot nosed kid telling me what I can and can't do," Ed spat, refusing to admit that she was right.

"Do you even know what's _out there?" _

"I don't care! The more time I stay here and mindlessly argue with you is less time for me to figure out how to get back!" He sighed loudly and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to calm himself. "Listen, Toph," he said slowly. "I … I _really _have to get back. My little brother is there – waiting for me. I can't stay here any longer. I _really _need to get home."

"I'm not trying to hold you back – I'm trying to help," she said, then ducked her head to hide the slight rush of heat in her cheeks that she could just _feel._ Ugh, how she wanted to hit something.

"I appreciate it, really." Ed sighed, stepping around the wall. "But I'll figure it out." Then a thought popped into his mind, "There is one way you could help me, though." It was worth a shot.

"What? It better not be something stupid, though, like get you a fish from the Southern Water Tribe or something."

"Err, no," Ed said, confused. "Just, there's this person who I think could _really _help me out. I'm going to go see if I can find him, but just in case you see him first, I need you to tell him I'm here."

"What does he look like?"

Ed faltered, "But … you can't see..."

"I know people who _can," _she said, rolling her eyes.

Ed felt sheepish. "Well, he's pretty tall – not _really _tall. though. He has black hair and he's really annoying. He's also a bastard and a shit head, too. He's really conceited and an asshole and has a god complex. Oh, and he's a major pyromaniac."

"Uh," Toph hesitated. "That's really … specific."

"You'll know him when you see him – er – meet him. He should be just as confused as I am about this whole place and the bending business."

"So he's an idiot like you?"

"Don't categorize him with me!" Ed exclaimed, highly offended. "_He's _the idiot, not me!"

"Of course."

"Just … if you do somehow meet him, just tell him that I'm here, too, and that I'm going to kick his ass and that I _might _know a way to get us back." That last part was a lie. He was working on it – with little to no success. Mustang didn't need to know that, though.

"If I remember, I'll tell him," Toph said.

"Thanks," Ed sighed, and he turned to walk away.

"Word of advice, though," Toph suddenly said from behind him. When he turned, she continued, "Stay away from people that can shoot fire – actually, just stay clear of people wearing red."

Ed waved his hand in understandment and turned again, pathetically limping away like a monkeypigeon or whatever Toph had called him before.

Toph.

What a _weird _girl.

He wondered if he would see her again.

* * *

He probably walked about ten feet before swallowing his pride and transmuting a cane. A _cane. _The goddamn Fullmetal Alchemist reduced to walking with the help of a stick. He was _so _glad that he was in the middle of nowhere with no signs of living lifeforms so that he could pretend this never happened when this was all over.

A frickin' cane.

His day couldn't get any worse.

But, oh, how the wonderful universe just _loved _to work against him.

His day got worse by simply ending. He reached some sort of forest like setting while hobbling with his cane when all of a sudden, he realized how _dark _it was.

Now, Edward was never one to be afraid of the dark.

But, _holy shit. _

Forests at night time were _the most terrifying things ever. _

The trees looked like Teacher did when she got _really _mad and shadows looked like demonic snakes. Weird sounds were being made all around him. He'd never been so jumpy before. A cricket would chirp and he would have his automail arm transmuted into a blade in less than a second, poised at the bug.

He slapped himself on the cheek lightly, "Calm down, you stupid pansy."

Something scurried by his feet and Ed had to bite down on his tongue to help from screaming.

This world must be some kind of _hell _if it had forests like _these. _He should have taken Toph's offer of going with her to save him from getting a heart attack. Did this forest even _end? _He felt like he'd been walking for _hours. _

And just to prove how much the universe conspired against him, his right foot began to throb – painfully. It was as if his ankle had a heart, each beat bringing in a new wave of agony. He tried to stay standing with his makeshift cane, but he knew the more he stood on his foot, the more it would hurt. He needed to keep the pressure off of it.

He looked around the terrifying forest for something to sit on and found a nice rock. He sat down on it and much to his surprise, the rock moved.

Ed yelped and fell off – no wait, that wasn't a rock! Suddenly, a head popped out of it, along with a leg – and another – and another – and another. It was a turtle, Ed told himself, breathing a sigh of relief. Then, all of a sudden, the turtle _hissed_ at him. A turtle _hissed _at him!

The turtle was suddenly anything _but _a turtle. Ed noticed in horror that that … _thing _had whiskers and ears and claws and fangs and a _furry tail. _

He must be hallucinating. Yeah, that's it. Hallucination. That's the only explanation for this turtle-cat thing. Unless it was a chimera. Yeah, that's it – but, no. Toph said there was no alchemy here, so there was no way they could create chimeras.

The turtle-cat monstrosity suddenly hissed at him again, it's spit landing on his cheek. Ed blanched – first a foot on his face, now _spit? _Thank you, universe. Just, thank you.

Ed decided he had seen enough of this freaky hybrid animal and grabbed his cane and left, wiping at his cheek ferociously.

"Stupid cat-turtle thing," he muttered bitterly. "Stupid weird blind girl – stupid universe – stupid everything!"

Ed yawned. He felt drained. He probably wasted all his energy arguing with that Toph girl. He yawned again. He felt, unusually, very, _very _tired.

He realized that his eyes were drooping and snapped them open, only to have them fall again. His legs felt warm and numb and his shoulders slumped. What the hell? Why was he so _tired? _

He yawned _again _and scratched his eyes. Maybe some rest _wouldn't _hurt, he decided when his feet refused to take another step. He didn't even bother to look for somewhere discreet to rest in, he just sat down where he stood and leaned back on the tree and closed his eyes.

* * *

Ed snapped his eyes open.

Oh, _hell_ no.

Was he_ sleeping?_

_Oh, good going, dumbass,_ he berated himself mentally. _Go ahead and sleep in some foreign land in some freaky forest totally unguarded. Because that's the _smart _thing to do. Good job. What a genius you are. _

Ed groaned miserably. He really _was _an idiot. What the hell possessed him to fall asleep in the open? He was smarter than that! He blamed Toph. He didn't know why or have a reason for it but he blamed her because it was better than blaming himself.

He looked up and was met with the sun's mocking glare. _Even better. _He had slept through the whole god damn day. It was probably close to the afternoon by now. So much for _not_ wasting time. _Idiot. _

He decided mentally picking on himself was not good for his self esteem nor his sanity and chose to stop and concentrate on something else, mainly, how he was still alive. He was sure if that kitty turtle thing saw him here, it would have attacked him as a grudge for sitting on him earlier – yesterday. Weird. Maybe he was _finally _getting some luck.

He heard a twig snap and quickly sat up with a yelp, prepared to meet that furry turtle head on. However, it wasn't a turtle. It was some teenager.

"Sorry for scaring you."

"I wasn't scared!" Ed automatically snapped. It was then that he noticed a fire flickering in front of him . He looked at the guy – and tried hard not to stare at that horrid scar on his eye; jeez, did everyone in this world have something wrong with their eyes? – and noticed he was carrying some small, rodent-animal thing by it's tail.

"Who are you?" Ed asked instantly when the scarred boy made his way to sit in front of him.

The guy made a face that was the same one Ed would make when he told people he was the Fullmetal Alchemist and they would ask, _'you're the what-now?'. _

"My name's Zuko," he said slowly.

Ed took note of the weird name and added it to the list of other weird names he knew (the list consisted of Toph and that's it.) and just nodded. "Alright, _Zuko, _what the hell do you want?"

The boy blinked at him. "Nothing..." He said, unsure of where this was going, and held his game on top of the cackling fire.

"Then what are you doing here?" Ed demanded.

Zuko narrowed his eyes at Ed, "Listen, you. I didn't stay here all night just to have some bratty kid yell at me."

"Nobody told you to stay here all night!"

The fire in the middle seemed to grow. "Then how about I chose the alternative and had left you here to sleep so you can probably get eaten by some wild animal?"

Ed growled, matching the boy's glare, but then stopped himself, and absorbed what this 'Zuko' person had just said. "Wait … so you _guarded_ me?"

"You were passed out from the turtlecat venom," the scarred guy said. "What was I supposed to do after seeing you? Leave you there to be dinner for the forest?"

Ed scratched his head, feeling very embarrassed and sheepish, "Oh, wow, then um, thanks."

Zuko looked taken back by the sudden gratitude, and then shrugged, saying, "It felt like the _right _thing to do, so."

"It _was _the right thing to do!" Ed said, suddenly _extremely _grateful to this guy. "It was the morally correct thing to do – you're really nice, you know that? You saved my life!"

Zuko picked his chin up, "Nice … yeah, I _am _nice." He nodded to himself, totally convinced and proud of his good deed. He looked at the blonde boy curiously, who was yawning loudly and scratching his eyes.

"Wait, did you say venom?" he asked.

Zuko nodded, "Turtlecat's spit works like hypnotics."

"Great," he grumbled. "No wonder I feel so crappy."

Zuko studied him carefully. Blonde hair … that was such a rare color to have. He couldn't remember anyone who had such unique hair color like this kid. And his eyes – were they _gold? _Strange.

The boy stretched his arms and stood up, wincing immediately. Zuko eye's tracked his body and came to the source – his leg. Did he hurt it? The way he levitated it off the ground confirmed his thoughts.

"Did you hurt your leg?" Zuko asked.

"Yeah. I fell on it yesterday. Should be fine if I put some ice on it or something."

A thought sprung in Zuko's head and a clever idea formed. This was his _chance. _Maybe if he took this kid to the Avatar and his friends, asking if they can help the poor, injured boy, then they'll hear him out and let him join them. This was a perfect opportunity to show them that he'd changed – that he's no longer hell bent on capturing the Avatar.

"It doesn't look fine," Zuko said evenly, his voice leaving no room for argument. "I know a healer who could fix it. I will take you."

The boy waved him off, using the tree as leverage as he tried stay on his feet, and turned to leave, "No, that's okay. You've done enough. Thanks for the help."

Zuko walked after him and gripped his shoulder, "I _insist." _Then he turned the boy around and pulled him towards the direction leading out of the forest, "I'm a good person now, so I'm inclined to help you."

Ed stumbled, not really used to being _dragged against his will. _"That's really nice of you Zuro –"

"Zuko."

" – but I really need to keep going."

Zuko shook his head, "No. You're hurt. This is my opportunity to show them that I've changed."

"Show who?"

"No one," he said quickly. "I know this person who's a great healer. She can help you."

"I _don't _need help," Ed whined, tripping on a rock.

Zuko stopped and stared him down in the eye, "You will accept my offer of help – I'm _nice."_

Ed swallowed thickly. He didn't know whether this guy was trying _too _hard at being nice or if he was just plain creepy. But if he thought about it, this guy _did _somewhat save his life from eminent danger. He couldn't be _that _bad.

"Alright, _fine,_" Ed succumbed. "But first, I'm hungry. Can we eat?"

Zuko thought it over for a minute, probably remembering that he had caught food already, and nodded, "Yes. Let's eat."

They sat back down by the fire and Zuko lifted the animals – they looked like ferrets, maybe squirrels? – to the fire and let their bodies burn. Ed didn't mind having to eat them; he'd eaten rabbits before when he and Al were dumped on that tortuous island, so this was no different.

The fire seemed to be dying slowly as they waited for the squirrel animal things to cook, and Ed was sure Zuko was going to get up and get more wood when he saw him shift. Instead, the scarred boy simply punched the air, and much to Ed's surprise, _fire _flew from his fist.

Ed was instantly on his feet, eyes widened. "You're – you're a bending fire guy!"

Zuko raised an eyebrow at him, "You mean a firebender?"

Ed nodded quickly, and Zuko gave him a long look. "So?"

"_So? _This girl told me to watch out for firebenbers – ah crap, you're wearing red, too!" Ed groaned, remembering Toph's words.

"She probably meant the Fire Nation soldiers," Zuko sighed and when he saw Ed's confused face, he added, "They're the bad firebenders."

Ed looked hesitant, "So … you're a _good _firebender?"

"Yes," Zuko said instantly. "I'm good. I'm _very _good."

Ed nodded slowly and sat back down. This guy had to be good if he hadn't cooked _Ed _yet, he figured. However, he was feeling a little discomforted at how Zuko was shooting Ed weird looks. It reminded him of Toph's face when he told her he didn't know anything about where he was or bending. Was he really that obvious?

They ate in relative silence, and when they finished, Zuko led him out of the forest and back into the dry environment he had found himself in when he first arrived. Zuko pointed north, at the end of the horizon. "They should be there, I'm sure of it."

"You're _sure of it? _That doesn't sound very assuring."

"Don't contradict me, I know they're there."

"Whatever," Ed shrugged. This was going to be a _long _walk. Wonderful.

"So, who are you?" Zuko asked and Ed sighed loudly, knowing that this was going to be an even_ longer _conversation.

* * *

They probably walked for about fifteen minutes but that was enough time for them get to know one another, albeit almost. They could each tell that the other was hiding some big piece of information that they were refusing to share, but both let it slide. Some secrets were not meant to be spoken out loud.

Ed had learned that this Zuko character was traveling to meet up with some people he knew. Upon closer inspection, he also realized that Zuko was really moody and cranky, but he wasn't sure whether that was just this one time or he was always like that.

Zuko, on the other hand, learned that this kid's name was Ed, and that he was looking for a certain someone and had gotten lost at one point. But Zuko can see beneath him. Ed was hiding something big. And when Zuko mentioned something about Ba Sing Se, he could see a flash of confusion fly in Ed's eyes. There was something odd about him.

"She shoots _lighting _at you_?" _Ed exclaimed, eyes popping. "Damn, she sounds _scary!"_

Zuko nodded, "You have no idea."

"I'm so _glad _I don't have a sister."

"Cherish it."

That was another thing about Edward that Zuko was confused about. He had _no _idea who he was. It was known across the elemental nations that the name _Zuko _could only refer Prince Zuko, son of Fire Lord Ozai. The scar was a dead give away, too. But this kid was completely oblivious to it. _Very _odd. Either his parents shielded him away from current events, or he literally lived under a rock, like some earthbenders.

They reached the edge of a cliff and stopped. "We're here," Zuko said.

Confused, Ed looked around, but he couldn't spot where _here _was. He looked to Zuko, "Um?"

"It's underneath the cliff," Zuko answered. Ed's eyes widened, "_Really?"_

From his pocket, Zuko pulled out a long line of rope and tied it to one of the trees by the edge.

"Whoa, whoa!" Ed suddenly said. "You want us to _climb _down?"

Zuko shot him an annoyed look, "Do you see any other way?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," he said simply, then clapped his hands and transmuted a ragged staircase leading down the cliff. It was no masterpiece or anything fancy, but it would suffice. He smiled proudly at his work.

Zuko stared. "You're an earthbender?"

Oh, crap. Ed felt like hitting himself in the face with a hammer for his stupidity. He _really _needed to asses the situation before doing something. He kept forgetting he was in some weird world that ran without alchemy. He could just imagine Mustang's remark. _"How simple minded of you, Fullmetal. You never do think before you take action, hm?"_

Ed met Zuko's confusion with a shrug, answering with a, "more or less."

Zuko didn't prod any further, for which Ed was happy. Explanations were a pain in the ass to go through, anyways.

They walked down the makeshift staircase and Ed suddenly felt nervous. It was like a small tinge in his gut, like a tiny spark, that suddenly told his brain to be cautious. Yet, he couldn't tell why.

Suddenly, Ed felt himself gaping. On the underside of the cliff, there were buildings and temples. It looked like an upside down town. And it was _huge. _

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they found themselves by a large fountain. Ed was positively memorized by the buildings on top of him, however. It looked like they were going to fall on him. It was, quite literally, breathtaking.

"What is this place?" Ed breathed.

"The Western Air Temple," Zuko answered.

Ed didn't know what that meant but he was still amazed. He noticed at the sides behind the fountain were large statues. He admired them from afar. They must hold some religious significance, Ed concluded.

Then he noticed something odd. Some of the statues seem to be destroyed. When he turned and looked around, he noticed that some of the hanging buildings were damaged, too. Like someone blew them up by throwing bombs at them or they just decided to spontaneously combust.

Zuko seemed to have noticed it, too, because he suddenly blanched at the destruction. Before Ed could ask about it, though, the sound of running footsteps met his ear, and the uneasy feeling he had in the pit of his stomach grew stronger, like his insides froze over, or his heart became strained when it beat. He swallowed thickly.

It was from behind the fountain that there seemed to be another room, because out of nowhere, a group of children suddenly ran out and stopped in front of them. They all wore strange clothing and seemed to be the same age as him, but Ed couldn't concentrate on their faces because he was starting to break out into cold sweat and his vision was blurring in the corners of his eyes.

"_Zuko_!" The girl in blue with long black hair suddenly snarled.

The boy with his hair tied back pulled out a massive black sword from his back and poised it at the two of them, "Bastard! What are _you_ doing here?"

Zuko opened his mouth to say something but the girl with long hair interrupted him, "And who's _he?" _

This time, Ed was the one who was interrupted, and it was by the sword wielding boy, "Probably one his minions coming to finish the job!"

"As if we'd let him!" The girl shouted.

"Yeah, we can handle Sparky-Sparky-Boom guy, then we could definitely handle these low lives!"

Ed turned to Zuko sharply. "You didn't tell me that they _hated _you!" He hissed.

"You never asked!" Zuko whispered back.

"Hey! It's Ed!" A voice in the back cried.

Ed's head perked at the familiarity, "Toph?"

"You know him?" The bald kid with the blue arrow on his head asked.

"You know her?" Zuko asked simultaneously.

Toph suddenly pushed herself between the long haired boy and girl and grinned, "Yeah, he's the idiot I found when I went scouting. I told you about him, the amnesiac one."

"I'm not an idiot and I'm not amnesiac!" Ed automatically snapped.

Toph then frowned, "You didn't tell me Zuko was the guy you were looking for."

"He isn't."

"Then why are you with him?" She asked.

"He's probably working with him." The long haired girl growled.

"Stay back, Aang, they're going to try to capture." The other boy said.

"How low, Zuko. Using a _kid _to do your dirty work."

"I'm not a kid!" Ed shouted.

"This is all just a big misunderstanding." Zuko said calmly.

"Yeah, I just met him! I have no idea what's going on!" Ed nodded.

Toph shook her head, "I thought I told you to stay away from firebenders, idiot."

"But he said he was a good firebender!"

"And you believed him?"

"Wow, Zuko. Lying to little kids now, are we?" The girl in blue said.

"Don't call me little!"

"I _am _a good firebender! Just hear me out."

"Yeah, we'll hear you out after we smash your face to the ground!" The boy with the makeshift pony tail said, swinging his sword around.

"Why are you with him in the first place, though?" Toph asked.

"Because he saved my life!" Ed shouted. Everybody paused at that and all eyes were on him, and Ed felt very queasy. That nervous feeling he had earlier had risen. His head was pounding like heavy drums. His fingers kept twitching and his mouth was running dry and _what was wrong with him?_

"... He saved your life?" The long haired girl asked, breaking the silence.

Ed regained his voice, "Y-Yeah … I got hit with that catturtle –"

"Turtlecat," Zuko corrected.

"Turtlecat's venom and I sort of fell asleep in that creepy forest. Zuko found me and stayed, making sure that, you know, I don't get eaten."

"I know I've caused you harm in the past," Zuko spoke up, his voice close to pleading. "But trust me when I say, I've _changed."_

"You expect us to _trust _you after all the _hell _you've put us through!?" the long haired boy exploded, flailing his arms around.

"I know I've made some bad choices –"

"Hell yeah you have!"

" – but I've changed. I've turned over a new leaf."

"What I don't understand is," Toph suddenly spoke up. "Is why Ed is with you." She pointed at Ed, "I thought you told me that you had to leave to look for a way home."

"I _did," _Ed said. "But _he _started getting on my case about my foot and said he could take me to someone who could heal it."

"Oh, so you listen to _him _but not me?"

"He was more persuasive!"

"Your foot's injured?" the long haired girl asked. "Then … you're _not _working for Zuko?"

"I don't work for anyone!"

"Then why did _you _have to bring him along? Couldn't you just have pointed him to our direction and left it at that?" The boy with the sword asked, directing his question to Zuko.

"I … just thought it would give me a reason to come and give you a reason to hear me out."

Toph snorted loudly. The girl with the blue clothing, however, walked up to Ed, "If you're foot _is _injured, then maybe I could heal it..."

"_Stay away from him, Katara!" _The bald boy shouted suddenly, making the girl freeze. Ed felt his heart quicken in pace.

"I'm not going to hurt her," Zuko said, slowly raising his hands up defensively.

"Not you," the boy hissed. "_Him!" _Then he pulled out a staff that was tied around his back and pointed it at Edward's direction threateningly. Gusts of wind from no deniable source came rushing out.

Ed took an involuntary step backwards, his feet shaking uncontrollably.

"What's wrong … Aang?" The blue eyed girl asked quietly, obvious confusion glossing her eyes.

"He's _dangerous," _he growled, glaring heating daggers at Ed. "Something's _wrong _with him."

Ed opened his mouth to defend himself but all that came out was air. He couldn't get the words out – he was _too scared. _That boy – his eyes – they screamed danger. They screamed pain. It was like he was prepared _to kill him. _"I … I …"

"What are you talking about?" Toph demanded. "If there's anything wrong with anyone here, it's _you."_

"Yeah..." the boy with the sword said, shielding his face from the strong winds. "Aang, what's the matter? This isn't like you..."

"Listen to _me,_" he shouted at his friends. "He's _dangerous_ and a _threat."_

"But he's just a kid..." the girl said.

"_No, _he's _not," _the boy hissed, and took a step forward, causing Ed to take a step back, making him bump into Zuko. "I can _sense _it … he's deadly – it's like he's _tainted."_

"I … I'm n-not … I –" But Ed couldn't make the words out. He couldn't calm his heart down. He couldn't stop his legs from shaking. He couldn't stop his head from throbbing. He couldn't stop the fear from digging into his throat. He couldn't stop the burning need to _leave – leave – I need to leave – I need to get away from him – he's going to kill me – ! _

"Aang, you're not making any sense," the girl said.

"Yeah – I was with him this afternoon and he didn't do anything to me, and Zuko there is still in one piece," Toph offered.

The wind grew stronger, and the ground below them did a sort of quaking sound as the tattooed boy shouted, "You _don't understand! _He's a _monster – _he has this_ ominous_ feeling about him." He swung the staff down and wind exploded in Ed's face, "_what are you?"_

The boy and girl dressed in blue began arguing with the other kid, and Ed could also make out Toph and Zuko's voices, too, but he couldn't concentrate on what they were saying. It was all a blur. He could feel himself break into cold sweat as he stood there, staring terrifyingly at the boy with the blue arrow on his head.

That boy – _everything _about him was menacing. The threat of death swarmed around him, and Ed could just tell that if he stayed, he would _kill him – kill – he was going to kill me – I'm going to be killed. _

Without a second thought, Ed quickly disregarded his foot and _ran _out.

* * *

Ed ran.

He ran up the stairs he made.

He ran out of the cliff.

He ran across the baron.

He ran as far as he could to make the feeling leave.

He ran until the pain in his foot became unbearable that he had stop.

He panted and gasped for air as he sagged to the ground, clutching his head.

What _was _that?

That kid. Ed swallowed down a lump at the memory. That _kid. _What _was _he? Ed had _never _felt so terrified before. Everything about that boy screamed _danger monster evil threat leave get out blood monster malicious nefarious death vile death death – death. _

Ed clutched at the fabric above his chest. _Calm down, _he told himself, told his heart. _Calm down – calm down – calm down. _

He shut his eyes tightly and tried his hardest to control his breathing. Deep breathes. In – out. He nodded to himself – _calm down. _His heart slowed down. His trembling stopped short – _calm down..._

He let out a large breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. He blinked. Why … why was he so _scared. _Ed blinked again. It was just … a kid. Why had he been so afraid of some kid? The fear, the horror – it all vanished. Why was he so _scared? _What … what is _he? _How could one brat reduce him to a pile of nerves? He was just a god damn kid ...! But at the same time ... he wasn't. _Oh god. _Just thinking about him made Ed's heart smash against his chest. _Calm down, god damn it!_

"Hey – Ed!"

Ed jumped at being called, completely caught off guard. He turned, expecting to see Toph, but instead, he saw that long haired girl from before. "What do you want?" Ed muttered when she reached him, his voice still shaking. "Come to call me a monster, too?"

She frowned and shook her head then pointed to his ankle, "Your foot … you're hurt right?" Then she say down across from him and opened a pouch that was strapped to her hip.

"What are you doing?" he asked, suddenly defensive.

"I'm a healer," she answered simply, and Ed watched with pure amazement as she made her hands dance, and at the same time, water smoothly flew out of the pouch, mimicking her movements.

"You're a … waterbender?"

She nodded and laid the water on his bruising ankle. Ed flinched at the contact, and she looked at him with a frown, "I'm just using the water as a catalyst to heal your wounds; don't worry." Then she resumed, and placed the water on his injury, to which it suddenly began to glow a silvery-blue and Ed relaxed at the chill feeling.

"You sprained it..." she mumbled, moving her hands around his joint. Then she was silent, and Ed couldn't help but feel confused and out of place. He looked at her with a sad grimace and asked quietly, "...Why are you doing this? That bald kid..."

"Don't misunderstand," she suddenly snapped. "Aang's an honest boy – if he thinks something isn't right, then it's not. He doesn't make up these kinds of things. I still don't trust you. None of us do."

Ed's nose flared, "Then why are you helping me if you're so convinced? If you're so positive that what that kid says about me is true, then you wouldn't even come _near _me, let alone help me."

"Because I'm not heartless," she said. "Whether you're just a kid or giant man eating monster, you needed help, and I can't just ignore people that need my help. I'm a healer – I don't turn my back on those who need healing."

She stood up then, and moved her hands to control the water and place it back in the pouch. "Try not to put too much weight on it, and it'll be fine," she muttered, walking away.

"You know," Ed spoke up, stopping her. She turned around to face him and watched as he stood up, glaring at her. Were his eyes _gold? _"Maybe you should start thinking for yourself instead of relying on what that bald kid says."

"What did you_ say_?"

"You said that that kid is honest – that he doesn't make stuff up. If I were as dangerous as he makes me out to be, then I would have killed you the moment you sat down."

"That's –"

"Or maybe I would have already killed Toph when she started talking to me, or Zuko when I woke up, or all of you when I had the chance. If I'm such a _monster,_ you all would have been _dead. _But are you? _No."_

"That doesn't prove an–"

"It _proves," _Ed emphasized. "That he was _wrong."_

"Aang's not wrong," she said defiantly.

"Then how about I kill you right now so that he could be right. Would that make you happy – would that put you at_ ease_?" Ed snarled.

"You don't know anything," she muttered.

"And apparently, neither do you," Ed said. "How about you make your _own _assumptions? Judge me with your _own _eyes – do I look like I'm about to kill you? Huh?" He bared his teeth at her, completely infuriated, "And while your at it, think about how _I _feel – having complete strangers calling me a _monster _when I didn't do _anything. _You don't have the _right _to think of yourself as not heartless._"_

He didn't give her a chance to talk, moreover, he didn't want to _hear _her talk. He swiftly turned his back to her and walked away.

_Monster. _

He didn't know why that word stung so bad but it did. _It hurt._

Ed grimaced – he _was_ a monster.

He made his mother suffer by turning her into that grotesque state; He put Al in that body – his own brother, reduced to a soul bound to armor. He _was _a monster. He was a monster for leaving his brother – all alone, bound to never recover his body back.

Ed clenched his hands into tight fists. _He needed to get back._

* * *

**Author's note: 8/22/12**

Well this was one big ass chapter!

The tone of this chapter was mostly on the same ratings of A:TLA, but as the story progresses, it'll slowly turn over into FMA'S ratings, with blood and violence and Ed spilling curses because that's just who he is. Don't worry, nothing too explicit.

On another note, regarding to how long this chapter was - I was initially planning to split it into two. I debated the idea for a while and just decided 'the hell with it' and put it up. If you would be so kind as to share your opinion on whether you want long chapters like this about once a month (maybe less) or half of this every two-three weeks, I'd really appreciate it.

And also thank you for all your kind reviews! It means so much! I was surprised at all the positive feedback this story gained! You guys make me feel like I have writing talent omfg.

Please, if it's not too much trouble, leave a review with your opinion on this monster chapter!

* * *

**Next Chapter: Priceless**

**How is it that he's already gotten himself into trouble with the military? And not just the military - but a god damn princess.**


	3. Priceless

**Intersecting Points**

* * *

**Part I - 3**

* * *

**Priceless**

* * *

**/ " **_The enemy of my enemy is my friend. _**" /**

The air was damp and chill, and when Aang looked down, he could see a herd of famished clouds gathering. A tinge of rumbling thunder could be heard from below, and he had a hard time distinguishing it from Appa's usual growling stomach. He wondered if it was raining down there.

"Quit crying; it's pathetic," he heard Zuko from behind him grumble and Aang wanted to tell him not to bother, because when Sokka got emotional, there was no stopping him.

"I c-can't!" Sokka sniffed and Aang shook his head.

"It's just a mask, Sokka," Katara said warmly, trying to get her brother to sober up, because, really, he can be really embarrassing sometimes. "We can get you a new one. You don't have to go through such extremes."

"A mask? _A mask?_" he exploded and Aang could only sigh, preparing for another one of Sokka's mindless rants. _Here we go. _"This wasn't just a _mask, _Katara! It was my honorable Southern Water Tribe battle helmet of justice! Only warriors that harness bravery and courage are given one of these! It's – "

"Then why do you have one?" Toph asked lazily and Aang snorted. He could feel Sokka's glare burning his back and decided to just steer Appa, pretending to be unaware of whatever was happening behind him.

"I didn't know you were brave," Zuko muttered.

"Or courageous," Katara added.

Sokka made a sort choking, keening sound and groaned loudly, "That's bullying! I'll have all of you _jerks_ know that I was given this helmet by the Southern Water Tribe's chief for my admirable accomplishments and skills!"

"Dad gave it to you as a present for your twelfth birthday," Katara deadpanned.

"That's irrelevant at the moment!" Sokka said quickly. "The point _is, _this wolf helmet is very valuable and special and I will not rest until it is fixed!" He knelt over the large saddle to try and look at the flying bison in the eye, "Onwards, Appa! There are helmets to be fixed!"

"This is such a waste of time. I could be sleeping by now," Toph muttered. "Hey, Aang, How about we just turn around and let Sokka drown in his tears?"

"You don't get to talk!" Sokka said. "_You're _the one who broke it in the first place!"

"Me? I didn't do anything – it was the Melon Lord!" Then she began laughing wickedly, throwing her head back.

"Nobody told the Melon Lord to start dropping giant boulders from the sky!"

"You need to expect the unexpected when we're fighting the Firelord," Aang said wisely with a convinced nod.

"The Firelord isn't an earthbender!" He turned to Zuko quickly, "He isn't, right?" Zuko shook his head. "See!"

"We told you not to practice with that helmet," Katara sighed.

"I warned him that Toph's training was ruthless," Aang nodded.

"Isn't _anyone _going to take my side?" Sokka cried. He pulled at Appa's fur, "You agree with me, right, buddy?"

Appa remained silent and Sokka let his head hang, "You're all bullies – picking on the minority."

Aang giggled and tried to look through the thick clouds for their destination – well, they didn't really know _specifically _where their destination was, they were just looking for a village – town – city – anything.

"Any signs of a village?" Zuko asked him.

"Um, I _think _I see one a little further out," Aang said, seeing some brown and black and green and red through the thinner clouds.

"You know," Toph suddenly drawled out slowly. "We wouldn't need to be looking for a village if _Ed _were here."

Aang couldn't help but groan loudly and mutter, "Not this again..."

Toph shrugged nonchalantly, "I'm just saying – he could probably fix this with his weird bending. If only _someone _didn't decide to flip the lid and go nuts."

"Come on, Toph," Aang said with a frown. "How long are you going to keep pestering me about this?"

"You _were _unfair to him," Katara added. Her frown deepened and her eyes softened at the memory and guilt swarmed her stomach. In a small voice, she added, "And he didn't even do anything."

"I told you guys!" Aang tried, "He didn't _feel _right."

"Yeah, well, _I_ was with him and he didn't feel wrong to _me," _ Toph said, crossing her arms.

Katara nodded and looked thoughtful for a moment, "He seemed like a nice kid, albeit with a temper."

"And an attitude," Zuko grumbled.

"Yeah, Aang, you should have given him a chance," Sokka said. "I mean, you were _so_ harsh and he looked like such a _sweet _kid."

Aang looked flabbergasted, "Sokka! You should be siding with _me _on this one; you're the only one besides me who doesn't know him! Why are you taking their side?"

"Doesn't feel good, does it?" Sokka asked with a deranged smirk.

"Bah!" Aang threw his hands up. "Why are we even discussing this?"

"Because you need to realize what a big jerk you are." Toph said simply.

Aang looked heartbroken, shattered, at the implication. "Jerk? Me? I'm not a jerk!" He turned to Katara, "Katara, I'm not a jerk, right?" She turned her head away quickly and Aang's face fell.

"I think it's time we brought him to a psychiatrist to evaluate these mood swings," Sokka whispered not so discretely to Zuko, who merely nodded his head.

Aang's frown deepened at the exposed betrayal, "I don't have _mood swings. _It's just – ack! – I can't explain it! It's just some Avatar business – you guys wouldn't understand."

"Pulling the Avatar card now, are we?" Sokka said slyly. "Smooth..."

"No! I don't mean it like that – its – well – You guys wouldn't understand," Aang repeated exasperatedly.

"Try us," Katara said, then more softly. "We'll listen – and help."

"Yeah, we can't have you having a mental break down in front of Ozai," Toph threw in. "That would just be embarrassing."

Aang just sighed and scratched his head. He tried to remember the encounter with 'Ed' and the feeling he got and just like a fire flickering on, the emotions burst to life inside of him.

_Hate – despise – destroy – attack – kill him – _

He shook his head, ridding the feeling with a shaky breath. "I don't know – it's hard to put into words. It's just … he gives me a bad feeling, sort of."

"Bad feeling?" Zuko asked, and prompted for the boy to elaborate.

"Yeah, like … It's just like when I come across a really bad spirit, like Koh, or grumpy Hei Bai."

Zuko looked at Toph, who was sitting next to him, "Grumpy Hei Bai?" The blind girl just shrugged, sharing his confusion.

"Well, he's definitely not a spirit if we all saw him – plus he's solid," Katara mused.

"I know he's not a spirit. It's just …" He scratched at his head irritability. "Okay, I _don't _know. I just – when I saw him, I felt this really dangerous aura coming off of him, like he was bad news. I felt like he was a threat – evil. I don't know how to explain it other than that."

Katara's brows dipped sympathetically, "I don't know Aang … to me, he looked really scared of you."

Aang frowned and looked away. He knew Ed was scared of him and honestly, he didn't want the blond boy to. He was the _Avatar; _He's supposed to be bringing peace, not fear. But _he couldn't help it because there was something wrong with that boy he was evil he was dangerous he will kill them all – he has been tainted. _

Aang breathed out loudly and felt suffocated. This feeling was going to tear him apart. He needed to not think about it. He shook his head, trying to clear it. Finally, he sighed, "Okay, maybe I was being a little … unfair to him – but I'm justified!" He turned to Toph, "He's a complete stranger! He came from some other land, right Toph? He told you?"

The girl huffed in annoyance, "I already _told _you guys everything; I'm not going to waste my breath repeating everything I say just because you guys don't listen."

"Apparently you don't have a problem repeating things when it comes to sleeping," Aang muttered a little too loudly, but Toph's head perked up instantly.

"What did you say, Twinkletoes?" She groped the air looking for him then growled, "Sokka – hit the Avatar for me."

Swiftly, Sokka racked his fist across Aang's shaved head and he fell on his face, grumbling while he massaged his new bruise. "Traitor," he muttered, glaring at Sokka, but Sokka just grinned (secretly massaging his knuckles because _damn _Aang had a thick skull.).

* * *

This Fire Nation village was very secluded, very small, and very quiet. A few small, wooden houses were laid about and behind them were large pieces of land specifically harvested to be farms. Cattle roamed and birds screeched and people went on with their lives.

Aang pulled down on his hat, covering his arrow, when people began giving him odd, suspicious looks. Maybe these people didn't take too kindly to outsiders? Zuko seemed to share the same thought, and hid his face deeper in the hood. It would be best if they weren't recognized. As small and separated as this village seemed, there was a chance that they might be caught up with current events.

They had left Appa and Momo on the outskirts of the village, hiding in the infested forest. A rumble of thunder was heard overhead and Aang dreaded the oncoming storm. It was hard to get Appa to fly when the rain turned nasty, so hopefully, their business here would be quick and they would get out before the storm came.

When they entered the village, they asked a couple of people if there was a repairman of sorts in this village and finally, a man with, bushy eyebrows, bushy beard, bushy mustache, bushy hair and a straw hat replied to them with a valid and enthusiastic answer.

"Repairman? Sure, we got one! Why, he just came in a few hours ago – that little repairman. He was so kind! Where is he? The tiny inn over there by the green store."

The inn was indeed tiny. A little too tiny to be an inn, actually. The innkeeper sat behind a broad desk. She was a large woman – _large – _with her hair in a nasty bun and a pipe sticking out of the corner of her mouth. The inn was drowning in smoke.

Sokka walked up to the desk casually and leaned his elbows on it when he asked, "Heard you were housing a little repairman."

The woman cocked her eyebrow at him and blew smoke in his face, "Yeah. What of it?" Her voice was cracked and ragged; it was painful to hear.

Sokka shrugged, "Mind showing us where he is?"

The innkeeper eyed him carefully, then glanced over at his entourage with a suspicious glare. Aang swallowed and Zuko ducked his head. The woman made a sort of _hmph _noise and said, "What's in it for me?"

Sokka's face fell when he searched his pockets and found only the money he was hoping to pay the repairman with. He looked at the lady pleadingly with large eyes and said with a small voice, "Um...the smiles of happy children...?"

The lady grimaced and emptied her pipe on the ashtray, "No thanks." She coughed a little and Sokka winced and backed away. She wiped her mouth and said scratchily, "He's on the second floor." Then she looked up and yelled, "Hey, Shrimp! I'm sending you more customers!"

The person in the room above yelled back, "Don't call me shrimp!" Then, in a quieter voice, "Stupid tobacco smoking hag."

"I heard that!" She yelled, then brought a broom and slammed it on the ceiling repeatedly.

Katara coughed uncomfortably, "Um … those are some pretty thin walls..."

The woman smirked broadly, showing her gray teeth, "I got 'em cheap."

Aang blanched and followed everybody upstairs. They were surprised to find only one room on the second floor – _this inn is really tiny! _Aang thought. Then his eye caught a glance of Toph, who was smiling menacingly.

"What's up, Toph?" He asked her, her deranged smile frightening him.

"Hm? Oh nothing. You'll see."

Sokka was the one who knocked on the door, and in response, the person on the other side of the door grumbled something, which he took as an invitation.

When he opened the door, Aang instantly felt uneasy. His stomach coiled and his head began to throb viciously. He tried to ignore it but it was so _sharp. _

The door swung open and all hell broke loose.

"YOU!" Sokka shouted, pointing a vicious finger at Ed, who was sitting on the bed lazily.

Ed jumped at the sudden exclamation and pointed to Sokka, "YOU!"

"Ed!" Toph said with a humorous smile, like she was remembering an inside joke.

"Toph?"

"Ed?" Zuko asked.

"_Zuko?" _Ed gawked.

"What are you doing here?" Katara asked sharply.

"What are _you _doing here!" Ed shot back loudly. "This is _my _room! Don't you people know what _privacy _means?" Suddenly feeling very self-conscious about being seen curled up in bed, Ed got up quickly.

"The lady downstairs said that the 'little repairman' was here," Sokka shrugged.

A vain began pulsing on the side of Ed's head as he fumed, "_LITTLE?" _He stomped his feet on the floor very obnoxiously and shouted, "I'M NOT LITTLE YOU DERANGED OLD HAG!"

"You're the repairman?" Zuko asked.

Ed rolled his eyes and muttered, "I'm not a god damn repairman. I'm a freakin' alchemist..."

"But you can fix things, right?" Sokka asked with sparks of hope flashing through his eyes.

"Yeah, what of it?" Ed asked impatiently. His face was plastered with a scowl when he recognized the whole group of people in his room. Well, he didn't really know _all _their names, but he did remember them from yesterday. So much for being alone.

Suddenly, his eyes spotted the bald kid with the blue arrow on his forehead and Ed finally had answer for why he was feeling so queasy a few seconds ago. He felt the blood leave his face and shuddered from an invisible chill.

The change in Ed's features quickly caught Katara's eye, and she looked from the blonde kid to Aang, who was suddenly glaring. The tension was thick in the air, and she felt like she was suffocating. She frowned. This isn't going to work – not on _her _watch. She had enough.

She grabbed Aang's arm and pulled him forward, in front of the bed. She ignored his surprised yelp and Ed's sudden tensing.

"Alright, you two need to settle things," She said loudly, crossing her arms defiantly.

"Katara..."

"No, Aang. Don't give me that!" She said sharply. "We will fix this!"

She turned to Ed, her face full of remorse, and Ed was suddenly uncomfortable with the display of emotion.

"Listen …" She began hesitantly, her eyes pleading and Ed prayed to whoever would listen that she would _not _start crying because he did _not_ do well with crying girls. "...About before, I understand if you're angry at us, but really, we're good people. We don't mean any harm. We're just edgy these days, and, well … I'm sorry – _we're _sorry."

She elbowed Aang lightly, but hard enough for him to change his glare to a sheepish look. He scratched his head uncomfortably and looked at Ed, then looked down, "Um … yeah, I'm sorry, for um, being harsh."

Ed frowned and looked away. Apologies were something he didn't really know how to deal with. They made him feel discomfited. He didn't know how to respond to things like, "I'm so sorry" or "Please forgive me" because they were just words. They held no truth behind them. They were just so simple to flaunt around that they lost their purpose.

He sat back down on his bed, eying the group. He sighed loudly and muttered a little shyly, "Yeah, sure, whatever," because, really, what else could he say back?

"So, we're good? Everything's fine?" Katara asked, clasping her hands hopefully, and Ed just wanted to roll his eyes at her foolish optimism.

Aang coughed, "Well, not _fine _… really. I still feel … weird about him."

Katara opened her mouth to say something but Ed beat her to it, saying, "You're the one who feels weird."

"Maybe it was destiny for these two to hate each other," Sokka shrugged, ducking from being hit by Katara, who huffed, "Nobody hates anybody here!"

Zuko scrunched his face, "What exactly is this feeling that you two get from each other that we're not feeling?"

"I told you guys," Aang said exasperatedly. "It's a _bad _feeling. Like at any moment he might attack. I just feel … I don't know – that he's dangerous."

Then all their heads turned to Ed, who refused to meet their eyes, waiting for his answer. He rubbed at his automail port – it always ached when the weather suddenly changed – and finally said simply, "I feel like he's about to kill me."

Katara paled at the very thought. The room was met with a deafening silence when all of a sudden, Toph burst out laughing. "Hahahaha!" She laughed, holding her side. "Twinkletoes – _kill someone?_ You've got to be kidding! He can't even kill a melon!"

Sokka threw his hands up, "Can we get back to the topic on _why _we came here in the first place?" He pulled out his wolf helmet and cried, "We have an emergency on our hands!"

"Oh yeah," Katara recalled. She looked at Ed, "We came looking for someone who can fix this – can you do it?"

"Do you have all the pieces?" Ed asked with a sigh, sitting back down.

Sokka nodded quickly, pulling out the ear out of his pocket. "Please – please – please – please – please – _please _fix it!"

"Alright, alright! Jeez, is he always like this?"

The other four could only nod sadly.

Ed reached out to grab the mask and then winced slightly. He rubbed his shoulder port again – _damn, _this weather was _not _doing him any good. It was aching dully, and his leg wasn't any better.

"Is your metal arm hurting because of the storm?" Toph asked and Ed nodded but then stopped. That _wasn't _Toph who asked, it was the other girl. But the only person that knew about his prosthetic limbs in this world is the blind girl. Ed gaped at Toph, "You _told _them that I had an automail arm?"

"And leg," Sokka supplied.

"_Toph!"_

"What?" She grunted.

"You don't just go around telling people my personal business!" Ed cried.

"It was a good conversation starter, what do you want from me."

Ed let out a strained groan. "Unbelievable..."

He put the mask in front of him and prepared himself to transmute it back to one piece but then stopped. They were all watching. If he would use alchemy in front of them, then that would spark questions. And he couldn't play it off as earthbending since this mask thing was clearly not made of stone.

He thought of an excuse quickly, "Ah – this might take a while so if you guys want to step outside..."

"But I thought you just have to clap your hands?" Aang asked.

"Yeah, using your alclaming thing," Sokka said.

"_Toph!" _

"What? I was bored!" She snapped.

"Did you tell them _everything _I told you?"

She shrugged, "Only about how you use the akalamy thing."

"And how you don't know anything about what's happening here," Zuko added.

"Or bending." Katara said.

"And how you came from a whole different country," Sokka contributed.

"And you don't know anything about the elemental nations," Aang nodded.

Ed's mouth hung open like a gasping fish. "That's everything!"

"You're such a baby," Toph scoffed. "If it makes you feel any better, Aang over there is the Avatar."

"_Toph!" _Her four friends cried simultaneously.

She looked completely unaffected. "What? It's a fair deal – secret for a secret. Besides, he probably doesn't even know what an Avatar _is."_

"What's an Avatar?" Ed asked.

"See?"

"Can someone _please _just fix my helmet!" Sokka cried out dramatically. "We're wasting precious time here, people!"

"Fine, fine," Ed muttered. Might as well just use alchemy if they already know. He shot a glare at Toph but then remembered she couldn't see. He reminded himself to never tell her anything. He focused his attention on the mask thing – is that a wolf _skull? – _and just sighed. Oh well. He clapped his hands and transmuted it, attaching the ear easily.

Sokka was absolutely gushing while everyone just stared.

"Oh – _oh _thank you! Thank you – thank you – thank you – thank you – _thank you!" _

"I know Toph said you had a weird bending power..." Katara began. "But _how _in the world did you _do _that?"

"It's just alchemy," Ed said simply, trying to pry Sokka off of him, who was trying to hug him out of gratitude. "Where I'm from, it's as normal as bending."

"But – "

"Wait, wait, wait," Toph interrupted, gaining everyone's attention. "Something's been buggin' me since we got here; what _I _want to know is why you've suddenly become a repairman. I thought you were in a rush to get back and stuff."

"I _am _in a rush!" Ed replied, and then, with an irritated frown, he added, "But when I came here, my foot was dying on me, and there was this guy who had his house crushed or something, so I fixed it for him and he offered to pay for this inn until my foot stopped hurting."

"You're foot is still bothering you?" Katara asked worriedly, but then the concern quickly turned into annoyance. "I thought I told you to keep pressure off of it! Did you walk all the way here?"

"I had to!" Ed cried defensively. "How else was I supposed to get here!"

Katara sighed loudly and shook her head, "I guess I'll look at it again..."

While she mended his ankle with water, Aang asked, "Did you really repair a whole house with your alcam bending?"

"_Alchemy," _Ed corrected. "And yes."

"That's insane!" Sokka exclaimed. "A whole house, back together!"

"As long as all the pieces are there, it's pretty simple."

"Doesn't anyone find it strange how we've never heard of this alchemy?" Zuko asked loudly, his voice just on the edge of suspicion.

"Hey, what's with that tone?" Ed asked, hurt. "I thought we were all good!"

"I don't mean anything by it," Zuko assured. "I'm just curious. Toph told us you came from a country that we've never heard of. Also, you don't know anything about the Elemental Nations, or bending, or the Avatar, and what's more confusing, you don't know who _I _am."

"You're Zuko."

"Yes, but you don't know _who _I am."

"That's pretty conceding of you; what, are you some sort of celebrity?"

Sokka blinked, "Wow, he doesn't know! He probably doesn't even know about the war."

"There's a _war?" _Ed almost choked. "Nobody told me anything about a war!"

Katara withdrew her water and looked at Ed oddly, "You … really don't know anything?"

"I wouldn't say _anything._"

"I told you guys he was an idiot," Toph sighed.

"I'm not an idiot!"

"Amnesiac?"

"Don't start!" Ed yelped.

"You're not from around here," Aang breathed. Everybody gave him deadpanned looks as if to say _obviously _but Aang shook his head, "No, I mean, you're _really _not from around _here_." He paused, "Are you sure you're not a spirit?"

"Spirit? I'm human!"

"Then why are you here? Why did you come here? Do you need something from here?" Aang pressed.

Ed swallowed at the sudden intense look Aang was giving him; his glare was choking him, like a snake wrapping its body around his neck. "I … It wasn't like I wanted to come here! I was thrown here! I don't even _want_ to behere!"

"But why _are _you?" Sokka asked.

"I don't know!"

"And why do you and Aang seem to hate each other?"

"_I don't know," _Ed stressed through clenched teeth. "Look, I don't have all the answers. I'm just as confused as you all are. All I _do _know is that something happened from my side and I ended up here. That's it."

"So how _did_ you come here? Can't you just leave the same way you came?" Aang asked. Something about his tone made Ed feel very pressured.

"It's...a bit more complicated than that."

"But you _do _know how to leave?"

"Sort of … it's not that simple, though!"

"What do you mean?" Katara asked curiously.

"It involves a lot of alchemy – I don't think you guys would get it," Ed said, hoping to end the conversation.

"Try us," Toph urged.

"You won't understand even if I told you!"

"Just start from the beginning then."

"It's a long story..."

"You can tell us! We're your friends!" Sokka cried out.

"Friends? I barely know you! I don't even know half of your names!"

"I'm Sokka, that's Toph, Zuko, Aang and my sister, Katara – now tell us, please?"

"It's really not something I'd prefer to share..." Ed said cautiously.

"Please? Please! We'll answer any of your questions!"

Ed frowned at this Sokka's pestering , but when he looked at everybody else, they all held that same look: hungry for information. Ed sighed. No point in hiding it, anyways. At least _he _would get some information out of them for himself.

"Fine. But before I tell you, I have to explain alchemy." Then he smiled because explaining alchemy made him feel giddy and happy. With a broad grin, he continued, "See, alchemy is all about equivalent exchange..."

* * *

"I'm telling you, Mia! I saw a flying bison!"

"You're just seeing things, Teo."

"No – I swear! I saw it flying out there; it's got to be the Avatar!"

"I don't want to hear it. Would you just come back and eat your dinner, please? It's getting cold."

"How can you ask me that when I _just _saw the Avatar!"

"You didn't see anything! It's too dark to make anything out, anyways."

"But I saw the horns and white fur and it was _huge_. Only the Avatar has a creature like that."

"It was probably just a cloud."

"Clouds don't have huge, brown arrows on their foreheads."

"Get away from that window and come eat with me – where are you going!"

"I saw some of the Fire Lord's men not too far from here..."

"Do_ not_ be bringing any soldiers here – that's the last thing this village needs."

"But think of the reward! There's a huge sum of money for the person who finds the Avatar."

"Leave that for Lord Ozai's cronies and just sit and eat your food, dear."

"Think of all the money!"

"We don't need any money! And besides, think of what will happen if you're wrong."

"I'm not – I know what I saw. My eyes don't lie to me."

"Dear, please, just come eat – Teo! Come back! Where are you going? It's about to storm!"

"I'll be back real soon, Mia! I'll tell the soldiers and we'll be set for life with the reward!"

"Teo – get back here! Honey! Teo – dammit."

* * *

Ed was answering their questions, but his mind was flying at unbelievable velocities.

He had explained his side; the alchemy and how he had arrived – but he simplified it; he didn't want to tell them too much. He kept it as simple as he could: the basics of alchemy and the circle that brought him here. However, he felt the unusual need to not mention the military. Because _that _would spurge unwanted questions that nobody needed the answers to.

The Sokka person was the most interested person out of all them. His eyes were full of heightened curiosity. He'd shown obvious fascination to the topic – he seemed to really like science in general – so Ed felt like he was talking to him specifically.

"So you just clap your hands and bend – ah – transmute?"

"Yes. As long I understand the structure and properties of the material that I want to transmute."

"But you said that the circle directs the flow of the power; how can you do it without a circle?"

"Clapping is a sort of … special talent of mine. When I put my hands together, I create an energy circulation with my arms and transmutes by using my own will as a substitute for the necessary runes."

"That is so _cool." _

But then, when they started answering _his _questions, the atmosphere shifted so suddenly that Ed shuddered.

Apparently, in _this _world, there was an ongoing war – a war that's been going on for_ a hundred years._ A war in which those who can bend fire try to eliminate all the other bending races – having already exterminated the airbending race, in which Aang was a part of.

And just hearing about this world's struggles made Ed boil over, because hearing about the slaughter of the benders reminded Ed of Amestris, and how his country was no different than the Fire Nation.

In all, both parties were awestruck by the others' information. But Ed was positive that the one thing their mind was really reeling at was the fact that _he was from another world. _

"But wait," Zuko interrupted when Katara was explaining the structures of the four elemental nations to Edward. "You never told us anything about how you came here."

"I _told _you; through alchemy," Ed answered.

"But you didn't explain _how _exactly."

"It was a really complicated and advanced method of alchemy," Ed said.

Aang spoke up, "So then why can't you just draw that circle and leave?"

Something about Aang's tone troubled Ed, "Because I don't know _exactly _what the circle was. I've never seen it before."

Toph snorted, "You just told us you were an alchemy genius."

"I am!" Ed yelped. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to explain, "Look, it's not as easy as it sounds. I need to know _exactly _what the circle looks like, because one mistake could cause a rebound and I could end up having my head cut off."

"But then," Katara said. "How do you expect to get back? There's nothing here about alchemy … no matter where you look."

Ed nodded solemnly, "I know. But there's this one person … when I stepped on the circle that brought me here, I'm pretty sure he stepped on it, too. He was … _investigating _the circle before we came to it, so he might know more about it than I do."

"Was it the guy you were telling me about earlier?" Toph asked. "The pyromaniac?"

"He's a firebender?" Sokka asked quickly.

"He uses alchemy to make fire. It's not bending," Ed clarified. "He definitely came here, too. I know he did. I just need to go find him."

"But he could be anywhere!"

Ed grimaced, "Of course he could be. That bastard just _loves _making things a hell of a lot harder for me." Ed paused. He didn't feel like entertaining the possibility that Artfield could be the one that was sent here instead of Mustang. Ed shook his head. That kind of thinking was not helping. Artfield isn't here, he was the toll. Mustang is the one here.

Ed froze.

_The toll. _

"_It's time I send you on your way, insolent fool. For the toll you payed, however, it's just a one way ticket."_

His eyes widened and he cursed loudly.

"What? What is it? What's wrong?" Katara asked.

"I forgot the freakin' _toll." _He almost shouted. He pulled at his hair, "How could I be so stupid and completely overlook the god damn _toll." _

"Toll?" Sokka asked.

"Yes, _toll," _Ed's frustration was dripping from his voice. "Equivalent exchange. I need something to give!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Toph.

"The toll – the _fee! _In order create something, something of equal value must destroyed."Ed growled. "In order to gain, you need to lose – I can't activate the circle without paying the toll."

"Why can't you just use what you used to get here?"

Ed blanched. "Artfield … the guy who activated the circle – his life was the toll."

"_What?"_

Ed met their startled looks with a grimace. He ran a hand down his face, "This is a disaster..."

"So … what are you going to do?" Katara asked, then trailed off, "Are you going to use someone...?"

"No!" Ed immediately shot out. "I would _never _kill someone just for my benefit! No … no, I just need to think of another way." He rubbed at his temples, "You guys wouldn't happen to have heard of a Philosopher's Stone …?"

They shook their heads solemnly and Ed groaned.

"Isn't there any other way? Like a loophole or something?" Sokka asked.

"Unless you can point me to the direction of something that is as valuable as a human life."

"So there is a loophole," Sokka said triumphantly, with a nod. "I'm sure we can find you a mountain of gold or a giant diamond."

"Sokka!" Katara cried. "That doesn't equal a human life!"

"To some people it does."

Ed sighed, "Where I'm from, we had this stone that could work perfectly in this situation." Ed shook his head, "But I doubt I can find it here. Hell, I can't even find it in Amestris."

"What's so special about a rock?" Toph asked.

"A lot of things! It amplifies alchemy and bypasses the rules of Equivalent Exchange _and _it's rumored to grant immortality."

"That sounds way too unbelievable to be real," Katara murmured.

"But it is!"

"Immortality..." Zuko mumbled thoughtfully. "I think … I might know of something."

Ed's head instantly perked. "Really?"

The scarred boy nodded, "It's something that has been passed down to my father, the sacred family treasure."

"And you think it's as valuable as a life?"

Zuko was silent before he said, "Perhaps."

"What is it? The royal crown? Ozai's beard?" Sokka asked. Zuko shot him a dirty look.

"It's the blood of a Phoenixdragon."

Edward faltered, feeling his hope crumble as quickly as it emerged. "Phoenix … _dragon? _You cannot be serious."

Zuko's dirty look was sent to Ed, "Do I look like I'm joking?"

"How can blood be equal to a human life?"

"It's no ordinary blood," Zuko explained. "My Father liked to crow about it plenty of times. A Phoenixdragon is the rarest breed of dragon there is, and it's blood is said to hold incredible powers."

"_Dragons?" _Ed blurted out disbelievingly. "There are dragons here?"

"Not anymore, they're extinct." Zuko said quickly, sharing a small glance with Aang.

"What kind of powers does it have?" Katara asked.

"It is said that it can prolong the life span of the person who drinks it and boost their bending strength."

Sokka snorted, "_Really? _Prolong someone's life?"

Zuko deadpanned him and said evenly, "My grandfather had once drunk only a _sip_ and managed to live to be ninety-five."

"Then that's it!" Ed exclaimed. "If I just use that blood as the toll, then the transmutation would definitely work!"

"But what if it doesn't?" Sokka asked. "Do you _honestly _believe that some blood will do the trick?"

"I don't hear any other ideas," Ed grunted. "If there's a chance that I could be sent back, I'll take it." He turned to Zuko, "Do you know where I can find it?"

The scarred boy faltered at the question, "Well … yes, but – I don't think it'll be easy to take."

"Why not?"

"Because it's with my father – at the Royal Palace."

"So what? Just tell me where that is."

Katara stood up quickly, her face startled, "You can't possibly expect to just _go _into the Royal Palace!"

"Of course I do!"

"You're insane!" Katara gasped. "We just told you about the Fire Lord's planned genocide and about the war and you think you can just pop into his front door! You're out of your mind!"

"That is my only chance of getting back!" Ed shouted back. "Any opportunity is better than nothing!"

"But you'll be killed!"

"Or! Or!" Sokka suddenly said, gaining their attentions. "_Or _you can use the Fire Lord as the toll. Think about it! He's one person who nobody will miss – and it's a win-win situation for both of us. You go back home and we win the war."

His smile fell when Ed lashed out with a very loud "_Hell no!" _Ed huffed, folding his arms. "I told you I'm not using another human life. It goes against all my morals."

"Besides, Aang is the one who's supposed to defeat the Fire Lord," Zuko piqued. Aang tried his hardest to make himself as small as possible at that notion.

"I'm not debating this with you guys; I'm using the blood," Ed said firmly, his voice leaving absolutely no room for argument. He turned to Zuko. "Where's the Royal Palace?"

The firebender sighed, defeated. "...Directly south from here, but there's an ocean you have to cross before you arrive at the Fire Nation Capital."

"An ocean?" Ed groaned. "Whatever … I'll find a way."

Katara frowned at the blond boy. His recklessness would be the death of him. There's absolutely no way he can make the trip. Especially now when the Fire Nation is at high security after the Eclipse Invasion. Katara winced at the memory. That devastating defeat was hard to swallow. A thought suddenly sprung in her mind.

"Why don't you just come with us?" She blurted out. Doubtful eyes watched her but she ignored them, "Just think about it. When Sozin's Comet arrives, we'll all be heading to the capitol to..." she faltered at her next words, "...take out … the Firelord. You can come with us. We have a way of crossing the ocean and you can take the Phoenixdragon's blood during the confusion. It's perfect!"

"That's a great idea!" Sokka cried.

"No."

She paused. "No?"

"No." Ed repeated. "You guys said that the comet comes in about a week, right? There is _no _way in hell I'm waiting a whole freakin' week."

Katara inflated like a popped balloon, "But …"

He shook his head stubbornly, "I need to get back the fastest way possible. I can't sit on my ass for a whole week doing nothing."

Her voice was small when she said, "But, you'll be killed."

"In that case, why don't you just search for your friend first," Toph said.

"Friend?"

"The person you came here with."

Ed stuck his tongue out in disgust, "Mustang is _not _my friend."

The blind girl ignored his comment, "You can't leave without knowing the circle, right? Find him first _then _go get the blood. Who knows, you'll probably find him when the comet comes and you can steal the dragon blood while everyone's killing each other."

That didn't sound like a terrible idea. Although, it will take up more time. But there really was no other option."Fine," Ed decided grudgingly. Mustang better appreciate that he was wasting his precious time looking for his lazy ass.

"So you'll come with us, then?" Katara asked hopefully.

"No."

"But you could really help us out with the war!"

"_No,_" he repeated, but this time, he said it more firmly, with more venom. "I am not getting involved in this world's affairs – especially fighting in a god damn _war._"

"But –"

"Stop," Zuko interrupted. He looked to Ed and then back to Katara. After a short pause, he continued, " He's right. He shouldn't get entangled in our problems. It's not our place to ask."

It was like she then heard what she had asked and ducked her head shamefully, regretting her words. "O-Of course. I'm sorry." She apologized meekly.

They had left after that, after Ed had said a small, "Thank you … for telling me everything." because really, he was grateful. He was grateful that they had offered to help, but he couldn't accept it. This was his problem, something he should be solving on his own. He shouldn't drag them into it. They have their own problems to deal with.

After his door closed, and after he heard the front door of the inn close downstairs, Ed made his way to the bathroom. He walked up to the toilet, bent down, and began violently vomiting.

He gagged and up heaved all the contents in his stomach. He kept retching and retching – his body desperate to spill all the fear and terror that it had contained in his body while he stood so closely to Aang.

He wiped his mouth with a shaky hand and he sat back against the wooden wall, gasping for air, desperately trying to stop his body from shuddering.

It was an hour until he finally stopped trembling, and at the same time, lightning flashed outside, and any hopes of sleeping were washed away by the onslaught of rain.

* * *

It was morning and it was still raining and she ran out of cigarettes. The innkeeper was not pleased with how this day had already turned out. Her mouth felt uncomfortably odd without the taste of tobacco in it. Leaving to buy more would only result in her getting soaked, so she decided to wait until the storm blew over. Eventually.

She really didn't expect her day to worsen, but it did.

The inn's doors were slammed open, and her mood had taken a nose dive when she heard the sound of something cracking.

"Who the hell do –" But she swallowed her words quickly when her eyes landed on the uninvited guest. Quickly, she ran around her desk and knelt to the ground, bowing, "P-P-Princess Azula! W-What brings you here?"

Azula's eyes were gleaming, which truly frightened the larger woman. Behind her were the Princess' two friends, but for the life of her the innkeeper couldn't remember their names.

"There's word going around that the Avatar was seen around this backwater village," the young princess said carelessly.

"The A-Avatar? I – I wouldn't know..."

"Really?" Azula spurned with her thin eyes narrowed. "Because your lovely neighbors told me that this inn housed a group of strangers. And you people don't get many visitors, now do you?"

The lady swallowed, "Y-Yes, that's true. There was one boy who was staying here, a-and a group of youngsters had come to visit, but left after a while."

"What did they look like?"

"The boy – the one who stayed here – h-he had golden hair and golden eyes, and his friends, w-well, I really didn't get a good look at them..."

"And why not?" Azula snapped.

The woman jumped where she bowed, "T-They were all wearing cloaks and hoods!"

"And you didn't think anything of these suspicious people? You blabbering fool, do you have _any _worth?" Azula sneered viciously.

She wanted to cry, or melt into the floorboard. "My d-deepest apologies, Princess! I – I –" Her knees wouldn't stop shaking as she thought of something to say to make the Fire Lord's daughter stop spreading her killing intent. "...one of the young ones, he was wearing a hood, but I saw his f-face – he had the scar, just like Prince Zuko."

Azula's sneer suddenly transformed into something malicious. The innkeeper shuddered at the look. "Oh? My darling brother was here?"

The woman nodded feverishly, "Y-Yes, yes! I'm sure of it! I heard their conversation – well, some of it – and I can hear his voice. I've heard it before – you see – so I know what it sounds like, and my walls are very thin, so I could hear him clearly. It was definitely your brother, Princess."

Azula flashed a wicked smile to herself. She turned to her friends, "Isn't that just precious? Little Zuko went and joined with the Avatar. What traitorous _scum." _She whirled to the woman bowing to her feet, "Tell me where they went."

"I … I'm n-not sure. T-They didn't say where they were staying o-or going..."

"Then what use are you!" Azula barked.

The woman shrank back, cowering, strangled in her own fear, "B-But the golden haired boy – he didn't leave until a few hours a-ago. H-He was heading south – I-I'm sure he hasn't gone far. He might be able to tell you...He definitely knows!"

"Golden haired?" Azula thought out loud. She looked thoughtful for a moment. It was quiet rare for someone to harbor that kind of natural hair color. There are only a handful of people from the Earth Kingdom that do, however, what could an Earth Kingdom civilian be doing here, no less be allies with the Avatar. She smiled wickedly. This was becoming very interesting. How _fun. _

She turned to the woman to the ground, "If you're lying to me, I will _disintegrate _where you stand. You hear?" And then spun on her heel and left the inn, as simple as that, leaving the innkeeper on the ground, praying to the Gods that the princess would find the golden haired boy and not come back.

* * *

He was amazed at how much better his foot felt. It was as if it were never even injured. It was like it was back to normal. This bending business was really impressive and he was genuinely impressed.

Ed trudged forward, his feet splashing onto each puddle that seemed to swarm the road ahead of him. Even if his ankle was fixed, it was still taxing to walk around, especially with this thunderstorm from hell. He expected it to stop raining by morning, like normal thunderstorms do, but apparently this wasn't a normal thunderstorm. Far from it. Lighting would flash and less than a second later, thunder would follow with a loud shriek.

His clothes were soaked to the bone, and if he didn't die from being struck by lightning, then pneumonia would definitely be the one to finish him off.

He wiped his brow again, but the rain was relentless, and a bucket of water continued to slide down his face. The rain wasn't cold, however, so it made Edward suppose that perhaps it was summer or spring time here. Back in Amestris, it was the beginning of March. He wondered if it was March here, too, or if they even called this time of the month March.

The rain was terribly loud, but Ed was thankful for that; it helped ruin his train of thought and concentration. He didn't want to think. If he began to think, then his mind would force him to remember that boy – Aang. Then his head would begin pounding, his stomach would begin twisting, his vision would begin blurring, his –

"Shut up..." he muttered, knocking on his head. Perhaps the rain wasn't loud enough.

He dragged his feet onward, following the road down south. It was close to impossible to see ahead of him due to the massive onslaught of rain. The water fell at such incredible speed that it was nothing more than a white sheet. But he refused to turn around now.

Even with this frantic storm, he needed to keep moving. He _had _to find the Colonel, and he absolutely refused the idea that he might not be here. The hope that Mustang was here was hanging on a cliff, about to fall to an abyss, but Ed refused to let it drop. He had to hold on to the idea that he was here.

Because even if he absolutely loathed the older man, the very idea of being in this world all alone truly frightened him.

He continued down the road for another half an hour and that was when the rain was finally showing signs of clearing up. Instead, it was now a rapid, light drizzle.

He lifted his automail arm to wipe his forehead and stopped, grimacing softly. The metal arm seemed heavier than usual. He shook it and heard some splashing from inside. Great. Winry was definitely going to kill him for this one. He smiled sheepishly and turned around, "Hey, Al –"

But then he froze, because there was nobody behind him. Because Alphonse wasn't walking behind him like always. His sentence died in his mouth. Ed remained still where he stood, the realization sucking the energy out of him. He was _alone. _

And on the other side, Al was alone.

Before he could take a step forward and resume his walking, the sound of puddles being splashed at from behind caught his attention. He turned around quickly, only to find three large animals galloping their way towards him.

Rapidly, Ed dodged the oncoming stampede by jumping to the side. The three animals – upon closer inspection, he noticed they were large, lizard like horses. He then decided that every animal in this world was a hybrid – circled around him before stopping.

The biggest of the lizard-horses shook its head, throwing water from its mane, and sat on the ground, then the other two followed. That was when Ed realized that there were people actually _riding _on those strange animals – and to his surprise, when they each dismounted, they were _girls. _

"It seems that wench wasn't lying when she said golden haired," the girl with her hair tied back, allowing two strands to fall freely at the sides of her head, said causally. Something about this girl's glare made Ed feel uneasy.

There were two other girls standing by her side – one with a very long braid and one with a stony frown. Ed stared them down with a scowl and crossed his arms, "What do you want?" The fact that they were blocking his way automatically made them enemies.

"Oh, Azula! He's so cute!" The girl with the long braid gushed.

Ed faltered in his threatening stance and stomped one foot childishly while shouting over the rain, "I'm not cute!" He scowled when her broad grin didn't relent. "Is there something I can help you with? If not, then move out of my way – I'm in a rush!"

He made his way to walk between the girls when all of a sudden, a wall of blue fire flashed in front of him. He jumped back just in time to see steam rise from the ground where he previously stood.

He gawked. "What the hell!"

It was the girl who's hair was tied back that answered, lowering her leg, "I don't remember dismissing you."

Ed growled at her flaunting tone. She flicked back a strand of hair from her face and smirked down at him, "Now answer my question, where is the Avatar?"

"The hell would I know!" Ed snarled instinctively. People who attack then demand information were bad news, and giving them information was even worse. Ed wasn't stupid, either. He remembered Toph's words about being cautious about those who control fire. Plus, with all he knew about the war and how important an 'Avatar's' role was, telling this girl anything would only result in something bad. He decided at that moment to play the naïve child.

"Don't lie to me," the girl – Azula, was it? Why did that name sound familiar... – chuckled in the sort of way that would send shivers down one's spine. "I will burn your mouth if you dare utter another false statement; now _tell me where they are."_

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Ed exclaimed. "Now if you don't mind, I have places to be."

He didn't really expect to get past them, honestly. It was three against one– not counting those weird animals – so there was a low chance that he could walk away from them. Plus they could control fire. But it was worth a shot.

Ed took one step forward and Azula snapped, "Ty Lee, stop him."

He didn't know which girl was Ty Lee, so he didn't know which one of them would attack, but he brought his hands up for defense anyways. As it seemed, Ty Lee was the one with the long braid, and upon Azula's clipped command, she did an impressive flip before landing beside Ed. She brought up her fingers and poked him in the arm rapidly.

"Ow – _ow!" _She hissed automatically, jumping back to nurse her bruised fingers. "That hurt!"

Ed smirked victoriously. He brought his automail hand up and snickered, "Nice try, but no."

Then something sharp stabbed his sleeve and he found himself pinned to a tree. He didn't even have time to blink before he realized that three tiny knives had pierced through his sleeve and attached it to the tree. He grunted as he pulled his arm, but the knives were in deep.

He looked around to try to find the source of the attack but found himself face to face with Azula instead. He leaned back when she leaned forward with eyes narrowed. "Now tell me where Zuko is." She said slowly.

Ed felt suffocated by the close proximity and couldn't help but sputter his words, "Z-Zuko? Who's that? And I thought you were looking for the Avatar!"

She shrugged with an amused frown, "Zuko – Avatar. Doesn't matter to me. If I find one of them, I'll find the other one."

"Yeah, well. You're out of luck, lady. I don't know where either of them are."

Azula lips curled at his carefree words and grabbed at his hair viciously, slamming it to the bark, "You will speak to me with respect, you _rat. _Now tell me where they are before I burn your neck open."

"So," Ed strained out. "You're saying if I _do _tell you, you _won't_ kill me?"

Her snarl transformed into a greedy smile, showing her teeth. "What do _you _think?"

Quickly, he brought his free hand to his pinned one and clapped, disintegrating his coat sleeve and then kicking Azula, releasing her hold of him. He stood up hastily and shrugged off what remained of his red coat with a grimace, exposing his automail arm, then looked at Azula and said, "I _think_ you have another thing coming."

Azula raised her head to glare at him, but instead of a grueling sneer like he expected her to harbor, she was smiling calmly. "What an interesting talent you have there."

Ed tried to school his features into something unaffected by her words, but he knew his hesitation when he spoke was noticeable. "It's just firebending," he said smoothly, hoping she'd by his gambit of burning the cloth rather than transmuting it.

Her slick smile never wavered, however. "You have such a quick mouth. I look forward to burning it to ash." Then she picked her knee up and kicked the air, blue fire spitting out of the soles of her shoes.

He didn't even think and Ed was on the floor, ducking out of the way. "Again with the fire!" He muttered.

But she didn't give up and continued to kick. Ed ran to the other direction and used a nearby tree as defense. The tree burst to flames in an instant and Ed squawked at the new found heat on his back. He tumbled back from it and a ball of fire was shot to his direction again. "S-Shit!"

His mind at overdrive, and adrenaline pumped into his veins, Ed bent down and transmuted a wall from the earth beneath him., effectively blocking the fire from burning him to a crisp.

He backed away from the wall when he heard a stifled gasp and a small, "He's an earthbender, Azula!"

Azula showed her face, and this time, she wasn't smiling. "Impossible."

Ed swallowed and cursed his reflexes. The girl with the frown and long hair was observing him with a careful eye, and he had to wonder what she was thinking, if she wasn't thinking at all. All she was doing was just standing there and watching. It was then that he noticed that between her fingers were glimmering knives, and Ed decided to watch out for her.

Azula was still watching him with a calculating stare. "Could it be that you're an Avatar as well?"

Ed rolled his eyes at her assumption. "I'm not the Avatar."

"Yeah, Azula," Ty Lee piqued. "The Avatar is bald, remember?" Then she turned to Ed and he really couldn't give a description to her face or to what she was thinking. "And not as cute," she added with a wink and Ed felt something inside him freeze over.

"But to firebend _and _earthbend..." She trailed off.

Before Ed could speak, the quiet girl said, "That wasn't firebending. There were no ashes or smoke." Ed gave her a disbelieving look and she just stared at him, completely unamused.

"My, you _are _interesting," Azula grinned and Ed blanched. "No wonder you went to seek out the Avatar. Perhaps you needed some first hand training on bending multiple elements?"

"Hey, _they _came to me! I could care less ab –" He stopped himself from saying anymore because he had already said _too _much judging from Azula's broad grin that sent shivers down his spine. Oh _god damn it._

"That was easy," she laughed. She pushed her hair behind her ear, "Let's start from the beginning, shall we? Tell me where the Avatar is and I'll consider burning off _one _limb." She eyed his automail and added, "The flesh one."

"You're an idiot if you think I'll tell you anything," Ed hissed. Maybe he shouldn't insult this girl, because the moment he said _idiot, _her smile melted off her face and waves of heat radiated off her hands.

"You _dare _insult me?" Yup, insulting her was definitely a bad idea.

She punched the air and fire flew at his direction. He transmuted another wall, and while the flame hit it, he transmuted his arm into a blade, ready to take the offensive. "If it's a fight you want then that's what you'll get!"

He whirled himself around and clapped, touching the ground. The earth beneath the girls' feet quaked, and pillars the shape of hands shot up.

Azula and the long haired girl jumped out of the way, while Ty Lee cartwheeled away impressively. Azula sprinted towards him, her fists engulfed with the blue flames. When she faced him, she threw punches at him at incredible speeds. He side stepped each hit as fast as he possibly can, until he bent down and transmuted the puddle beneath their feet into a smokescreen of steam.

Azula coughed and jumped back, "Water, too?"

Ed didn't have time to catch his breath as the long haired girl came at him with the small knives. She slashed at him and he raised his automail arm to deflect them. But she was quicker and was able to slash a small portion of his hair off.

He yelped when Ty Lee popped up between them and jabbed at his leg, only to yip then pout while she massaged her fingers, "No fair! Your leg, too?"

Ed smirked at her, but for some reason she retreated, as did the longer haired girl. That was when he saw the reason – lighting was flying his way. Hurriedly, he clapped and transmuted a wall. But the wall crumbled when the strike had made contact, and another line of lightning spiraled at him.

He hissed when he felt the electricity cut and burn his shoulder and growled when he heard Azula cackle. His shoulder was shaking immensely, and before he knew it, his whole body was shaking. The smell of burnt flesh met his nose and he almost gagged. He clamped his automail hand at the wound but stopped, in fear of electrocuting himself further. He growled at Azula with as much venom as he could possibly muster. "T-That is _so _cheating..."

Azula lips curled in delight and she ran towards him again, but Ed didn't give her the satisfaction of landing another hit on him. When she kicked at him, he quickly ducked and clapped his hands and touched the ground, transmuting the ground beneath her into mud.

Her feet sank in, but she was quick. She used Ed's shoulder as leverage and pulled herself out, jumping on top of him and away from the mud. Ed hissed at the weight on his burnt shoulder, but he bit back the pain and clapped his hands again, transmuting pillars directed at Azula. But she was faster than he expected, and again she dodged everything he threw at her.

"What a strange habit you have there," Azula mused out loud, dusting herself off. "The way you clap before you bend. I wonder how useless you would be if I cut off one of your arms."

Ed didn't answer her, instead he just continued glaring, mindful of the other two girls behind him. He heard rapid footsteps and in an instant, Azula was in front of him, fire engulfing her hands. He bent backwards as low as he can when she slashed, effectively saving his head from being severed, and then kicked her beneath her legs. She jumped just in time, however, and kicked him in the face.

Ed cursed at the blow – and at her damn _heels – _and watched her as she ran to him again. She kicked and fire flew out, completely catching Ed off guard. He jumped to the ground and then rolled away when fire came at him again. He stood up and slashed with his automail hand, but she was _too freakin' fast. _

He was so frustrated by at this point – _he couldn't even touch her. _While the whole time, she just grinned at him, mocking him. She kicked and he slashed down but she slicked out of the way easily, only to throw fire at him and laugh when he had to transmute a wall again.

She lashed out more fireballs at him, but he decided he was fed up by her antics and ran towards her, his blade poised. Azula saw him coming and punched the air, sending more blue flames at him. She expected him to make another wall, but instead, she heard him clap, and waves of water met her fire.

Clouds of steams obscured her vision and she coughed loudly, when all of a sudden, she saw a blade and a fist coming towards her. She tried to duck but it was too late, and she felt the point of the blade stab across her cheek.

The steam cleared quickly and Ed smirked at Azula, watching the blood trickle down her cheek and chin. _He finally got her. _He watched her as she touched her cheek and stared at the blood and her face contorted into something ferocious.

"You filthy _rat! _You dare cut _me?" _She snarled, her cool composure from earlier slipping.

"You were shooting _fire _at me! What did you expect me to do!" Ed screeched.

She ignored him and cupped her cheek. The cut was deep and still bleeding. "I'll burn your skin off for spilling the blood of royalty!" She growled.

"Royalty?" Ed echoed dumbly, then it came to him – _fast._

She shot lightning, she's a firebender, she's royalty – her pompous attitude, why her name sounded so familiar, her sadistic behavior, her – "You're Zuko's crazy sister!"

Azula ignored him again and looked at the blood in her hand. If this would scar – if this _damn _cut would scar, there would be _hell _to play. Ty Lee was quickly by her side to examine the wound, "Are you okay? It's bleeding a lot!"

"You think _I don't know that?"_ Azula snapped, whirling back to Ed. "_You! _I'll kill you for this!"

"It was self defense!" Ed objected angrily. "You think I'd just sit there while you tried to kill me?" She was totally taking things out of proportion. So it was okay for her to slice his shoulder open with freakin' lightning, but he does _one _thing to protect himself, and she wants him killed? "It's just a cut! You don't have to be so damn dramatic."

He took a step back when her eye twitched violently. "You cut the skin of the firelord's _daughter _and you feel you have the right to _talk back to me? _Don't make me laugh! You are dead where you stand!"

She raised her hand and sparks danced around her fingers. She pointed it at Ed but then Ty Lee grabbed her wrist hastily. "W-Wait, Azula … You can't kill him. He's the only one who knows where the Avatar and Zuko are."

Azula paused at her words and scowled because she knew the other girl was right. She shrugged off Ty Lee's grip with an annoyed grunt. She took in a breath from her nose then grinned, attempting to regain her composure. She looked at Ed with gleaming eyes and said in a calmer voice, "How about it, then? One last chance to tell me?"

He was skeptical, and very taken back by how fast her attitude changed. But Ed didn't buy it for one second. Obviously, there was more to this girl. She was all kinds of wrong. "And what if I do tell you? What happens to them? What happens to me?"

She barked a haughty, mocking laugh at his question, "Ha! You worry about them? Those traitors? They're as dead as you!"

"I don't remember anything about killing Zuko." The quiet, long haired girl spoke up. Her voice dripped with boredom, but her facial expression was dead serious.

The corner of Azula's lip twitched slightly. She turned to the other girl and pushed back the loose strand of hair with hard force. "What do you think happens to traitors, Mai? Don't be so naïve," she replied with a bit of annoyance. She turned to face Ed again but Mai wasn't finished.

"Traitors go to prison, like General Iroh. The death penalty isn't up to you to decide."

"_Everything_ is up to me!" Azula snapped harshly. Her breath labored as she tried to control her anger and _annoyance. "_I'm the firelord's daughter – the next one for the throne. The next _firelord. _Everything is up to me," she said somewhat calmer, her eyes _daring _Mai to speak up again.

"But you aren't at the moment, which means you can't make any decisions concerning the current Firelord's _son." _The long haired girl answered immediately.

"Are you _questioning_ me, Mai?" Azula hissed.

Ty Lee looked to one girl then to the other, then back at Ed, who was watching the ordeal with obvious confusion. She took a step forward to her friends and said in a tentative, small voice, "Guys...let's not fight."

"No, I want to hear this!" Azula exclaimed with a deranged, amused smile. " Let's hear it, Mai. Let's hear how you are questioning my word. Indulge me."

"I'm questioning you." She said monotonously.

Azula smile slipped. She tried to maintain it – her cool, her calm – but it was _hard _because how dare Mai think she can talk to her like that. Who did _she think she was talking to?_ "Don't treat me like a joke!"

"Why not?" Mai asked coolly, with her eyes narrowed. She took a step forward with her fists clenched but her voice never wavered, "You're planning on killing the only lead to the Avatar. Then you're planning on killing Zuko, when the main idea was to capture him and throw him in jail alongside your uncle."

Ed looked from one girl to the other. He didn't know whether he should feel awkward or afraid that one of them would decide to just explode. He wondered if he had a chance of escaping quietly, but then figured that if one of them caught him trying to flee, they would burn him to a crisp. He cursed his inability to not do anything.

"I can make any decision I want. You're criticism holds no value to me." Azula sniped.

"Then I guess I can't agree with your decision." Mai sighed melodramatically.

"Hahaha! You _think you have a say in this?" _Azula cackled._"_You have a say in _nothing. _Neither of you do! You do what I say like the obedient, filthy _dogs _that you are! You will forever abide to me if you want to see the sun rise."

"Azula!" Ty Lee gasped – almost shrieked – at Azula's awful words. "How can you say something so mean –"

"Silence! Are you going to question me as well, Ty Lee?" The princess snapped with her teeth bared. She pushed back that _stupid _strand of hair back again and wiped her cheek from the blood that kept seeping down her cut. "If so, then you are even more despicable than that golden rat there!"

"Hey! Stop calling me a rat!" Ed piped, but then regretted it when Azula turned to him and acknowledged that he was still here.

"Your voice annoys me." She said simply with a deep frown. "I'm going to have some fun inflicting the worst possible pain to you for cutting me!" She lifted her hand and brought out two fingers and electricity danced around them. It cackled and zapped when she pointed at Ed, until Ty Lee grabbed her wrist again and the concentration was lost.

"Unhand me!" Azula shrieked, struggling under the other girl's unusually strong grasp.

"But if you kill him then we'll never find Zuko!" Ty Lee cried.

"Don't tell me what to do!" She snarled, shoving Ty Lee off of her with brutal force. She tumbled back from the push with hurt in her eyes, and Azula met them with her own enraged eyes. "Once I'm through with this vermin, I'll kill Zuko, and then the Avatar, and anyone else who apposes me! So watch your tongue!"

She raised her hand again and the electricity swarmed angrily around her until a knife pierced her sleeve and pinned her to a tree. She gasped when her back slammed into the ark. Her eyes met Mai's sharp eyes - the eyes of someone rebellious, someone determined, _someone fearless. _Something snapped inside her and she heard it."What is the meaning of this!" She bellowed.

"I don't remember agreeing to being your lapdog." Mai said. Then she sighed and shrugged lazily, "Sorry, but I'm not the type that wags her tail."

"You've made a grave mistake!" Azula shouted, pulling the knife out of her sleeve and standing up. She squeezed both her hands tightly and blue fire engulfed them. "Both of you – you think you can betray _me? Me? _I'll make you regret the day you ever set foot on this earth!" The thunder in the clouds above them bellowed loudly when she spit, "I'll have you on your _knees _begging for mercy!"

Mai and Ty Lee both braced themselves. Azula had the face of a wild beast, something they've never seen her harbor before, so they had to prepare themselves for the unexpected.

But then something unexpected _did _happen, and it happened fast. All in a rush.

One moment Azula was surrounding herself in angry, blue flames, ready to fire at them, and the next, a tree split itself in half and wrapped itself around Azula's arms, immobilizing her.

Mai looked around to find the answer to _what _exactly just happened but her question was answered by Azula's hysterical shouts of, "You rat! _You rat!"_

She whirled around to the blonde boy to find him crouched on the ground with both hands on the floor. So it was him. She sighed. Might as well just take advantage of this situation. She walked over to her lizardhourse and said loudly, "Ty Lee, we're leaving." After a thought, she added, "And grab blondie over there."

When Ty Lee grabbed his arm and pulled at him, Ed then realized that 'blondie' was him. "Hey, wait, I'm not – " But the girl pretended to not hear his objections and pulled him to her lizardhorse.

"You think you'll escape me?" Azula growled at them, attempting to pull herself free. "I'll hunt you _all down until your feet are bleeding!" _

Mai turned her back to Azula and registered Edward instead, who was trying to pull himself free from Ty Lee's abnormally strong grip. "You're taking me to Zuko." She said curtly to him, ignoring Azula completely.

"I _told you, _I don't –"

"Whether you do or don't, you're taking me." She stated evenly, the tone of her voice silenced the boy completely. Then she turned to the lizardhorse, clibed onto its back, settled herself on the saddle and pulled on the animals reigns. "Let's go," she said to to Ty Lee.

Before she made the lizardhorse move, however, she turned to Azula. She studied the girl with calculating eyes and just gave up trying to read her. It was pointless and a waste of time and totally not worth it. Although, the sight of the vicious Fire Nation princess looking vulnerable as she did really did amuse her. With an unreadable face, Mai said, "You might want to clean that cut; Azula. You don't want it to scar that scary face of yours." Then she steered the animal into the woods, allowing a small smirk to slip her when she heard Azula roar out in anger. So worth it. Maybe this day wasn't as boring as she thought it would be.

Ty Lee pushed Ed to the other lizardhorse's saddle, trying to make him hurry so she could catch up to Mai, but Ed still objected stubbornly, "Wait, wait! Hey –"

"Come on, cutie. You don't want to be here when she's out." She purred, nodding to Azula, who's fists were inflamed alongside her rage at watching betrayal in action.

Ed considered his options quickly, a little panicked, though. Okay, so he can probably go with these two girls, who might or might not attempt to kill him. Or he can just run away, from Azula, from the two crazy chicks. But Azula could escape. Trees don't work well with fire. She'll blast that poor tree to pieces and come after him and he'll meet the same fate –

Ty Lee pulled him on the subdued lizard horse animal thing, cutting Ed off from making his decision. "H-hey!" Ed yelped but she just grinned like a kitten and grabbed hold of the reigns and steered the large animal after Mai.

Ed tried his hardest – tried really _really _hard – to not have to rely on wrapping his arms around Ty Lee's waist to stay in place and not fall off the animal as it galloped and bounced – but he couldn't. And his face got even redder when he heard Ty Lee giggle.

Why did it feel like he was making a really bad mistake?

* * *

Azula's teeth were bared like a wild lionboar. Her cheeks were flushed with rage and rage and _rage. _How dare they? _How dare they? _Nobody – _nobody nobody NOBODY – _treated her like that, treated the Firelord's daughter – the _princess _of the Fire Nation – the _next _Firelord like that!

They would pay – they would _all pay. _

She will burn their skin off; make them beg for mercy. She will make their bodies melt into a bloody, bubbling liquid mess. Those _scum. _

She should have known that trust would get her nowhere – she should have established the fear from the _start. _Ty Lee and Mai; just the thought of them made her shake in fierce anger.

But the scum – that filthy golden _rat. _Her long nails dug deep into her palm just remembering him – remembering how he cut her skin – her _skin. _How can she rule this new ash filled world with a face like _this? _He ruined her! He damaged her and made it so that everyone can see it – see that someone had bested her. The evidence would remain on her face _forever. _

_She was supposed to be untouchable. _

_Untouchable! _

A deep growl emitted in the back of her throat. The splinters stung deep as she curled her fists. She was furious with herself for not getting out of the mutilated tree's grasp just in time to pin those fools down and have them beg her for forgiveness.

But she will have it – soon. She will – she will – _she will. _

Azula kicked the door open and that fat, disgusting innkeeper jumped at the noise. She rounded her desk and knelt, ready to bow down to her _ruler, _"P-Princess! I –"

"You told me your walls were thin," Azula sniped.

"W-What?"

"Look me in the _eyes _when you are speaking to me, you hideous thing!" Azula snapped harshly. She didn't have time for foolishness – she wanted answers – she wanted names – she wanted _blood. _"You said your walls were thin, correct? You heard everything that golden animal said? I want you to tell me _everything _you heard. _Everything. _And if I'm not satisfied with what you have to say, I will burn this pathetic inn down along_ with you inside it."_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Holy fuck this was a monster to write. As you can all see, longer chapters will be written from here on out! Because of all you fabulous readers and reviewers, I made this chapter _extra _long. I HOPE YOU ALL LIKED IT! So it would MEAN ALOT if you left a review as my reward for writing so much...?

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**Next Chapter: Disoriented Circles**

**_Azula was relentless, Ed was restless. Ed, Ty Lee and Mai search for Zuko and the others and run into more trouble. The Gaang search for Ed and run into old and new faces. _**


	4. Disoriented Circles

**Intersecting Points**

* * *

**Part I - 4**

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Disoriented Circles

* * *

/ "_A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving._ " /

The rain had finally stopped and had left a miserable fog in its wake. Puddles drowned the road. Trees were damp and heavy with water. Clouds still roamed the sky. It was very gloomy weather, to say the least, and it left everybody else feeling the same.

It was Katara's idea to go back to that secluded village to see Ed. It was painfully obvious in her blue eyes that she was worried. She always worried about other people more than herself. That's what Aang truly admired about her. Her selflessness. She put others before her. It was a hard trait to find nowadays.

It began when Zuko asked Katara why she was so agitated. It was the question on everybody's mind, even though they knew the answer and were too afraid to share it. Everybody cringed when the question surfaced. It was common knowledge _not _to ask Katara why she was upset when she was upset.

As expected, Katara had exploded on Zuko, screaming at him for _why did you point Ed to the direction of his grave? _That _did you even think about what you were saying when you told him to go to the Fire Nation capital? He's going to be killed for sure! Of course I'm agitated! It's all your fault that Ed could be dead by now!_

Aang could tell that Katara wasn't really mad at Zuko specifically. She was bound to explode on whoever would dare ask her why she was upset. She wasn't upset with anyone, she was just upset in general. It was who she was. She took out her anger on the people around her, even though she didn't mean it. It just helped her vent.

However, Zuko wasn't aware of that. He was still new to the whole … well, to them. Plus, he wasn't that well informed with Katara's personality and she was still sketchy with the Fire Prince joining up with them. So naturally, Zuko didn't know to just sit back and take her yelling so she can relieve herself of her emotions. Instead, he started shouting back. Not a good idea.

_What did you expect me to do? Lie to him? Yes, of course – why don't I just lie to him and make him run around in circles? Because that was obviously the better thing to do! _He yelled back sarcastically, which eventually escalated their conversation into a full blown argument (well, it wasn't a conversation to start with, but Aang didn't know _what _to call it) which annoyed Toph who began screaming at them to shut up, which made Sokka start attempting to intervene with pitiful distractions. Then Momo began screeching, feeling left out that he wasn't invited to the shouting party.

It was hectic, and Aang was positive that the ancient air nomad statues were glaring at them for disturbing the peace of the unusual temple. Even the damaged and destroyed statues seemed to be glaring at them so heatedly. Aang didn't feel like interfering, though. He knew his voice held no sound when everybody was mindlessly yelling at one another. He'd just wait it out. That usually worked.

By the time the sun had dipped behind the mountains, they'd all shouted their share and tired themselves out, and Aang was more than relieved. They went to sleep and woke up the next morning as if nothing ever happened – which was typical.

They strapped themselves onto Appa wordlessly and left the Air Temple in mutual silence. They didn't ask where they were going – they all knew. They knew the answer and held onto it. Aang didn't object. He didn't even understand _why _he _should_ feel the urge to object. He just had the feeling that he should say something but willed himself not to. It was just so … _confusing. _

Appa's throat grumbled when he felt the familiarity of the scent of the village and Aang knew that they had made it. He landed his bison as quietly as he could land a fifteen ton animal. The air was thick with heavy mist and it wasn't any better when they left the forest and walked into the village.

Right when they reached the borders of the village, they knew there was something wrong, and it sent a tinge of chill up their spines.

"Something's different," Zuko murmured, looking around with wary eyes.

"Is it me or does this place seem scarier than before?" Sokka asked.

Katara frowned. "It's just the mist," she said slowly, but she understood what he meant. The air around them was subtle and somber, like the aftermath of a disaster had taken place. She hoped her premonition was just nerves because they really couldn't deal with any more trouble.

"Let's just see if Ed is still here and get out," Sokka said nervously. "This place is giving me the creeps." An old couple passed them by and their faces were beyond grim. Katara made a move to ask them what had happened but they quickly ducked their heads and hurried away. "Weird," she muttered.

"Uh, guys?" Aang's voice tentatively. He pointed ahead of them and said, "Wasn't … _that _the inn Ed was staying in?"

They followed his finger and Katara swallowed her gasp, almost choking on it. She covered her mouth in horror and the collective silence disturbed Toph. "What? What is it?"

Katara quickly ran ahead, straight towards the inn and everybody followed with frantic footsteps. Toph's gut squeezed when she felt the rabid beatings of Katara's heart and instantly knew something was wrong. When they stopped running, Toph didn't have to ask what was happening. The smell in the air alone answered her question.

There were many people gathered around the inn, their hats clutched in both hands, and eyes dipped in sympathy. Aang turned to a man next to him and asked considerately, "What happened here?"

The man glanced over him and then shook his head. His voice was shaking with emotion when he said, "Poor Eiana … they're sayin' that she was harborin' a fugitive in her inn unknowingly. Some soldiers came in askin' her where he is and such. They sayin' the Firelord's daughter was the one who did it."

"Azula?" Zuko quickly asked with wide eyes. "She was here?"

The man nodded, pursing her lips, "Aye. She came with some others then left. Someone's sayin' she got into a fight and then came back to Eiana, askin' for more details and such but I guess Eiana di'nt know much 'cause," he shook his head and pointed to the ashes and charred wood on the ground, "she gone and burnt the inn with Eiana inside."

"That's … !" Katara gasped. Zuko quickly shot her a look making her swallow her words. His eyes were warning her to watch what she would say next. They were in _enemy _territory, his eyes seemed to be hissing. Over here, _enemy _was hero to these people.

"Aye, I know," the old man said with a sad shrug. "I told Eiana not to be takin' just anyone into these inns. I told her to be more careful but she's never listenin' and this is what she gets. She should'a listened to me."

Bitterly, Katara kept quiet at the man's inhumane words. She clenched her fists at his tone, at his patronizing eyes, at his disgusting nature. How is he so _blind _to the fact that this woman was _burnt alive so cruelly _and still thought it was correct to say it was her fault?

"You said she got into a fight?" Toph asked the man. "With who?"

He scratched his chin, "I think it was with that fugitive. A few miles down you can see the remains of the fight. Boy, I tell ya. That princess sure goes all out."

"Thank you," Aang said hastily and they hurried down the road to where the man pointed.

"Can you believe that man!" Katara finally fumed when they were far from the ears of the villagers. "He was talking like it was that lady's fault for dying! Doesn't he realize how _barbaric_ the Fire Nation is?"

"No," Zuko said, his voice firm. "He doesn't, and neither does anyone else here. Over here, everything my father or Azula does is correct."

"But it's horrible! Don't these people at least have common sense – can't they just tell that everything going on here is _wrong?"_

The scarred boy shook his head. "It's different. It was how they were raised and what they were taught. To them, they are the good ones and we are the ones who are evil. It's just how it is. It can't be changed."

Katara didn't believe that. "I don't believe that," she said with determined eyes. "It'll be changed – I know it will be. It can't stay like this forever – people turning a blind eye to what's wrong. I'll make sure it'll change after this war."

Aang swallowed at her last sentence. _After the war _was a heavy thing to say, and it pressured him because everybody was expecting him to end the war. But he still didn't know if he _could _and nobody seemed to understand the magnitude of his task. To _end a war. _That … was something he wasn't sure he could do but knew he _had _to do. He shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking of that right now. It only stressed him out even more.

The road they were walking down on was empty. Not a soul but theirs was present. There were some cart tracks on the moist ground but nothing more. Sokka was the most confused. Why would nobody be walking down this road? Unless, he thought, it was a dead end or something … then it hit him, "Doesn't this road lead south?" He asked aloud.

Katara caught on to what he was implying quickly and frowned, "You don't think …" she began. "That Ed went to get the Phoenixdragon blood, do you?"

"That idiot!" Toph exploded. " He just loves _not _listening to me! I swear, the next time I see him I'm breaking his teeth!"

"Then he's the 'fugitive' that guy was talking about..." Zuko murmured.

"Oh no …" Katara breathed, putting the pieces together and letting her imagination run wild. "But then if Azula intercepted him," she fiddled with her shirt at the very thought. She shook her head. No – don't think like that. "...I hope he's okay."

"But why would Azula care about him?" Zuko wondered aloud. Then he added with more emphasis, "She doesn't even _know him_. Nobody on this planet knows about his existence except us."

"That's true." Katara agreed. Ed said that he had only arrived two days ago, and between those two days, the only people he ever interacted with was first Toph, then Zuko, then the rest of them. There was no way that between that period of time he could have met with the Fire Nation's princess and somehow gotten on her bad side all at the same time.

"So then why _was _Azula here?" Toph asked, voicing the question on everybody's mind.

Sokka thought it over with a hum, tapping his chin. The only reason Azula would be here would be to catch Aang and Zuko. But they had been extra careful not to be seen by civilians. They traveled incognito and covered their scar and tattoo, so it would be impossible for anyone to recognize them. Unless … "Don't get mad at me or anything for saying this... but do you think Ed sold us out?"

"Sokka! Don't say that!" Katara immediately gasped.

"I'm just voicing my opinion!" He defended.

"Your opinion sucks." Toph muttered.

"But it's possible!" He defended _again, _then shot Toph a dirty look but was disappointed when he remembered she couldn't see it. "I'm just saying," he began, answering the groups curious stares, "We know nothing about that kid. Who's to say he isn't the type that would rat us out for some gold?"

"What could Ed do with gold _here.?" _Katara asked, rolling her eyes. "Are you forgetting that he's some sort of other worldly person or did that just fly over your brain."

"Hey, I'm just throwing out ideas!"

"Your ideas suck, too." Toph muttered, kicking a rock. Sokka's eye twitched slightly.

"Are you guys just going to stand there and let her bully me like this?" he flipped.

"Be a man and stand up to her." Zuko said gruffly.

Toph smirked widely at the idea. "Yeah, Sokka. Stand up to me."

"Life is so not fair..." He moaned.

"I'm worried..." Katara murmured. Then her head perked up at the realization that she had actually said that out loud rather than silently thought it. Everybody was looking at her, prompting her to continue, so she sighed and said, "Azula … she could have really hurt him, or worse..."

"I don't think so." Zuko stopped her. "Remember what that villager said. Azula left and then came back again demanding information. Something tells me that Ed got away."

"How can you be so sure?"

"She would have found some way to make him talk." Zuko answered darkly.

She shuddered. "I hope he's okay..." Katara couldn't help but sigh.

* * *

"Are you okay?"

"No."

Ty Lee frowned at his quick response. Ever since Ed came along with them, he had been very grumpy. Even more grumpy than Mai in the morning, which was a very difficult thing to compete with. She turned around so she could be face to face with Ed and asked, "What's wrong? Does your shoulder hurt."

"Oh, my shoulder is fine, thank you for asking. What does bother me, however, is the fact _THAT YOU GUYS JUST KIDNAPPED ME!" _Ed suddenly exploded, flailing his arms around while trying not to fall off the lizardhorse thing.

Mai sighed and rolled her eyes. "Not this again," she muttered from the other lizardhorse. She thought she distanced herself far enough from those two so she wouldn't have to hear them argue every five minutes, but she guessed she was wrong.

"Yes, this again!" Ed proclaimed. "I'm pretty sure it's universal knowledge that kidnapping is a crime and _wrong _and the fact that you guys just – OW!" He jumped when Ty Lee suddenly decided to touch the tender skin of his shoulder a little forcibly.

"Hey, you said your shoulder didn't hurt!" She pouted, crossing her arms.

"Of course it hurts! _I was sliced with freakin' lightning!" _Ed almost shrieked.

"Lying is not okay." Ty Lee stated.

"KIDNAPPING IS NOT OKAY!"

"Indoor voices!" She yelled back.

"We're _outdoors!"_

"So noisy," Mai muttered with a groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm beginning to contemplate my decision on not letting you be burned alive by Azula."

"Aw, Mai! Don't say that!" The braided girl twisted herself around easily and pinched both of Ed's cheeks playfully, stretching his face. "You wouldn't really let someone this adorable be burned, now would you?"

Ed smacked her hands away, "I'm not adorable." He brought his hands up and massaged his cheeks, fighting the urge not to pout. "And I told you not to do _that. _It hurts."

His situation could _not _be anymore outrageous than this. Not only did two girls, who earlier were his enemies, decide to split with their leader – or whoever that crazy chick was – but they even decided to _freakin' kidnap him._

The moody girl was dead set on forcing him to tell her where Zuko was, and his objections were met with a bored glare and the threat of having his neck sliced open by one of her knives. After much, _much arguing,_ Ty Lee finally told him exactly _why _Mai wanted to see Zuko.

"You see … Zuko and her were kind of _a thing."_

"A _thing?"_

"Yeah, you know. A thing."

"... I really don't know what you're talking about."

"A thing!"

"What thing!?"

"_The _thing!"

_"What thing!?"_

"_Boyfriend and girlfriend."_

"Oh – Why didn't you just say that from the start!"

"I did!"

Apparently not too long ago, Zuko left the grumpy girl with just a note that she was not happy with and she decided she wanted a better explanation. But looking at the stony girl, Ed was pretty sure what she actually had in mind was something more violent. Ed didn't really care about her stupid relationship problems in the first place - he just wanted to _leave. _

Trying to understand his current predicament hurt his brain. He still wasn't exactly sure _how_ he got into this sort of situation in the first place. His luck was worse here than it was in his world.

Although they quite literally did kidnap him, after traveling with them for most of the day, he came to the conclusion that they weren't all that bad. Well, compared to that Azula girl, they were angels sent from heaven. He'd asked them why they were with her in the first place, and Mai answered simply, "It's a long and boring story." He didn't pursue it any further, knowing how somethings were better not told to others.

He pointed them to the direction of the upside temple place that Zuko brought him to where the rest of those kids were. He was pretty sure Zuko was still with them, since he tagged along when they all barged into his room at that tiny inn. If he wasn't, then that wasn't his problem because _why was he even with these girls in the first place? Why couldn't they just go without kidnapping him?_

"To make sure you're not lying, because if you are, I'll make you lose another limb."

He really didn't like the threats she threw at him, since he was sure that she meant all of them. In truth, she could be _really _scary at times. Not even an hour ago, he and Ty Lee were yelling at each other about who should steer the lizardhorse, and she turned her head to glare at them and Ed could have sworn that the world suddenly darkened and her eyes started to glow.

But Ed knew the two girls meant well (still skeptical about Mai, however). He should have scolded himself on trusting them so easily and directing them to Zuko, but from what he'd observed so far – them betraying that crazy princess, subtly saving him, not killing him when they had a chance – they couldn't be all that bad.

He just didn't understand _why they had to freakin' kidnap him! _His mind was totally warped around it. Didn't they realize that they were messing up his schedule! He could have gotten the Phoenixdragon blood _and _found Mustang by now.

"Why so sad?" Ty Lee chirped, her braid smacking him in the face when she turned her head. That was probably the thirteenth that had happened so far.

"I'm not sad – I'm _pissed off." _Ed scowled, brushing her hair away from him.

"Nobody cares..." he heard Mai mutter from ahead but he ignored her in favor of glaring ahead of him.

"But _why?" _Ty Lee asked, stretching the last word. "We're bonding!"

"I don't want to bond! I want to leave!" Ed said. "I have places to go, too, you know."

"Where do you want to go?" Ty Lee asked, cocking her head.

"To –" Ed stopped himself. He couldn't tell them that he was going to the Fire Nation capitol to steal some priceless item from the Fire Lord guy. If Katara flipped out on the idea, he didn't even want to imagine what this girl would do. Plus, he had enough of telling people about his business. "...It's not important. What _is _important is I get there as soon as possible."

"Too bad, shorty," Mai said.

"_Don't call me shorty!"_

Ty Lee frowned deeply at Ed, "You don't like here with me, Eddie?"

"No! And I told you not to call me that!" Ed snapped automatically. He was _not _happy with any of the nicknames the girls kept throwing at him. From 'Eddie' to 'Cutie' to 'Blondie', he was just sick of them.

Suddenly. he heard a quiet sniffle, and when he raised his eyes from glaring at the road to looking at Ty Lee, he saw that her eyes were wide and moist and sparkling and _oh god she was going to cry. _

"N-No no no no!" He squeaked frantically, waving his hands around. He panicked even more when he saw her bottom quiver. _Oh god make it stop. _"I-I didn't mean it like that!"

"E-Eddie doesn't l-l-l-like it here with me," Ty Lee hiccuped, bringing her hands up to cover her mouth. She made a sort of sobbing, moaning sound that was almost similar to the sound of a dying cat.

"Is Ty Lee crying?" Mai asked from thee front.

"No!" Ed quickly shouted. He turned back to Ty Lee. "Please don't cry" - Because the other girl would kill him and he didn't know how to handle girls who cried - "I didn't mean it like that."

"Then how did you mean it?" Ty Lee sniffed.

"I meant, um," he faltered, his mind racing with an excuse. _Come on, _he metally told himself. _If you can make up a story every time someone asks about Al's armor, then this should be a piece of cake! _"I meant don't like it _here, _in this desert place. Because, you know, its so hot and my metal arm absorbs the heat, making it uncomfortable for me ... "

"Really?"

"Yes, really." He nodded.

Ty Lee's face cracked into an enormous smile. "Yay!" She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, "So you _do _like being with me! I knew it! You and me are going to be _best friends!"_

"Gr..eat," Ed chocked out, his face changing from a blushing red to a gasping blue in mere seconds. Best friend sounded like the sort of commitment he didn't really want to get himself involved in. Hell, just having Winry as a friend was exhausting enough. At least she didn't feel the need to hug him _every single minute. _It still beat the wrench to the head, though.

She let go of him and then sighed and became silent, which worried Ed because this girl was almost _never _silent. He was tentative to ask her what was wrong because that would just result in more of her talking but he was curious. Damn his curiosity. "What's wrong?"

"I'm thinking," she hummed. Ed almost gaped. _This girl can think? _He was almost tempted to say 'Don't hurt yourself' but that would most likely lead to more crying and _god forbid _that happened again.

She clapped in sudden realization, which frightened Ed slightly. She grinned and said, "I decided! Best friends give each other things, right?"

Ed blinked, totally caught off guard. He faltered when he answered, "Uh, yes?"

"So how about when we find Zuko, I give you Mimi!" She said with a proud nod.

"What's a '_Mimi_'?"Ed asked. Was that another term that was used in this world? It better not consist of any more violations of personal space because he had _enough _of all the hugging.

Ty Lee chuckled at his confusion and patted the animal they were riding,"Her."

Of course she would name some wild mutant beast. Why was he not surprised? The odd name wasn't much of shocker either. It was at that moment that Ed decided that this girl won the award of the weirdest person he'd met in this world so far. "Why the hell would I want some smelly, weird looking animal?"

Ty Lee gasped, almost chocking on the large intake of breath. "Don't say that! Mimi is very sensitive!" She wrapped her arms around _Mimi's' _neckand stroked it's mingy mane, while glaring pitifully at Ed. "Don't worry, Mimi, he's just jealous of your beauty."

Ed rolled his golden eyes at her ridiculous behavior, "As nice as your offer was, I'm going to have to decline."

"But didn't you say you had to go somewhere to do something important?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well!" Ty Lee puffed. "You can use Mimi to get there! She's very fast, you know."

Ed paused, and then, "Of course!" Even if he had little to no knowledge about how to ride an animal like this, it still sounded like an excellent idea. This beast was much faster than him on foot. Ed smiled. His luck seemed to be shifting pretty fast. With this horse lizard thing, he would be able to get the Phoenixdragon blood and find that bastard Mustang much quicker. "I change my mind – I'll take Mimi!"

"Ah – Ah – Ah" Ty Lee said childishly, wagging her finger playfully. "First you have to answer a question of mine."

"What, why?"

"To prove that we're best friends, of course!" She said obviously.

"I never agreed to these terms!" Ed exclaimed loudly.

"Well, if you want to be my best friend, then answer this question."

He groaned. "Whatever, fine."

Ty Lee flashed a toothy, feral grin and asked "...What's my name?"

Ed's eyes widened and he held his breath. Oh _shit, _what was her _name? _She was smirking at him – she _knew _he had trouble remembering her name ever since he accidentally called her by the other girls name. Oh goddammit, _what was the other girl's name?_

This shouldn't be such a hard question to answer but it left Edward feeling miserable because remembering names shouldn't be this _this hard! _Hell, he managed to memorize all the elements in the periodic table! God damn this weird world and it's weird names.

The girl looked at him expectantly, waiting for an answer, and Ed swallowed. He had an advantage, however. He knew that her name was either Mai or Ty Lee. He remembered that much. He didn't know which one belonged to which girl, which made everything all the more difficult.

Ty Lee or Mai … which one!? He remembered back when she punched him in the shoulder a few hours ago for calling her the wrong name and at that moment he made up a system to remember her name so he didn't get punched like that again. The system was matching the first letter of her name with an adjective that described her.

Ed began to think. Was it Ty Lee? It should be … T for Talkative. That sounded plausible. Or was it Mai; M for Moron? Both of those acronyms fit the girl … but what about the other girl? M for Moody or T for Terrifying? Ed cursed in his head when he remembered a third name – Azula. _God dammit too many names!_

Finally, and very confidently, with his chin raised and his eyes firm, he said, "Your name is Mai."

"Wrong!" Ty Lee – _god dammit it was Ty Lee! How could he forget!_ - sang before barreling her fist into his shoulder effectively, and pathetically in his case, knocking Ed off the lizardhorse and onto the ground.

"Ow – ow – ow –_ ow – ow!" _Ed whined when his burnt shoulder stung from the pressure. He frowned up at Ty Lee – who was _smiling! _She was enjoying his pain! – only to find Mai standing above him.

"We're here," she said simply.

Ed got up quickly and dusted himself off before Ty Lee landed on his back and pushed him back on the ground. He tasted dirt and felt his lungs being crushed from the girl's weight.

Ty Lee got up and dusted herself off, saying, "You're so soft, Eddie!" before walking beside Mai. Ed groaned pitiably. He'd rather be stuck with Mustang than these two girls.

"Here's the cliff," Mai said, pointing to the large gap underneath her feet. "Now where's Zuko?"

Ed scowled, "I said the place is _under _the cliff. Weren't you listening to me?"

"I must have been ignoring you when you said that..." She said nonchalantly.

Ed muttered some curses under his breath and then sighed. "Well, Zuko is under there. So, if you don't mind, I'll be on my way."

"Not yet, shorty," Mai said, quickly snatching the back of Ed's shirt.

"But _why?" _Ed whined, then, "_don't call me short!"_

"How do you expect us to get down there?" Mai asked.

"Figure it out on your own," Ed sniped, turning again, but Mai's grip was _really _strong.

"I did figure it out," She said, pushing him to the edge. Ed stopped himself before falling down to his death, and turned around. Mai was glaring at him, patiently. Her eyes waiting for him, threatening him.

More curses escaped him mouth but he nonetheless bent down and transmuted a staircase for the two of them to walk down from. He was ready to turn again but Mai was quicker and repeatedly shoved him down the stairs ahead of her.

"You told me that all I had to do was take you to where Zuko was!" Ed complained loudly.

"Stop whining," Mai muttered.

They reached the bottom of the stairs and Ed recognized the large fountain from when he first got here. If his memory served correct, there should be a room behind it, since that's where he remembered the whole group of kids rushing out from.

However...

Ed scanned his surroundings. He was … calm? But that shouldn't be. Every time he was in the same room as that bald kid that they were with, he would suddenly feel odd. But that wasn't the case here. He didn't even sense a small vibe of that horrid feeling. Which can only mean that … they weren't here?

"Who's there!" A shrill voice shouted from behind them.

All three of them spun in unison to find a tiny kid pointing a stick at them. "Intruders, huh?" The kid said. "Fine by me – I'll take all of you on!"

Ed opened his mouth to say something, when two other people came from an opening from _somewhere. _Just how big was this place that it had all these secret rooms to fit and hide so many people?

"Duke, what's going on?" The kid in the odd wheelchair said.

"Who are they?" The taller boy asked in alarm.

"Intruders!" The little brat answered hotly.

Ed rolled his eyes, "We're not –"

"Look!" The tallest one said, pointing at Ed. "He has the same arm as Sparky-Sparky-Boom-Man!"

Ed quirked an eyebrow at that statement and looked at his arm, which was entirely exposed. Remembering how he managed to destroy it with his fight with Azula, Ed groaned. This was going to be a hard thing to explain and something he would rather _not _explain.

"Does that mean they're connected in some way...?"

"Ah!" The tall boy with the facial hair cried, pointing at Mai and Ty Lee. "I've seen them before! Those girls work for Azula!"

"Fire Nation, huh?" The little one said with a smirk. "That settles it."

Ed paled at the familiarity of this one sided conversation. "No, we're not! Just _listen –"_

"They're probably here for Aang!" The boy in the wheelchair gasped.

"They'll have to go through me first!"

"We're not here for Aang!" Ed tried. Why couldn't he meet strangers in _peace _without them jumping to their own conclusions and piling accusations at him?

Ty Lee nodded and added, "Yeah, we're here for Zuko!"

Ed groaned when Ty Lee's words obviously made everything all the more worse.

"I knew it! They are here to capture us!"

"Zuko's with us now! So if you want to capture him, then you'll have to go through us first!"

The little kid swung the large stick wildly, "If it's a fight you guys want, then it's a fight you'll get!"

Mai sighed loudly, "Finally. Something to do." She reached into her pockets with both hands and smoothly pulled out her small knives.

Ed panicked at that point, "Wait! Ty Lee, don't –" Quickly, he ducked when one of the small knives flew above his head. Mai glowered at him and hissed, "I'm _Mai, _you moron."

He grimaced, "Mai, right – okay, just wait!" He turned to odd group of three strangers, "Listen! We're not looking for a fight _or _to capture anyone. We just want to know where Zuko is so we can _talk _to him."

"Yeah, right. _Talk." _The small brat snorted.

"Like we'd believe you guys." The boy in the wheelchair added.

"Fire Nation scums like you are always lying."

He wanted to pull his hair out of his scalp. _Why was this always happening to him_? He tried again, "No, listen! I'm not even _from _the Fire Nation! Hell, none of us can even bend fire!"

Suddenly, the space between the two quarreling groups sprouted with an angry red fire, its flames blowing heated wind at the both of them. Ed gaped at the timing, and panicked at the looks the three boys were giving him. "W-W-Wait! That wasn't us, I swear!"

Ty Lee hummed and looked up. She frowned and pointed to the sky, "I think it came from up there..."

Following the invisible trail her finger created, all heads turned to see three large, red blimps that harbored the crest of the Fire Nation. They made a monotonous humming noise as they floated in the air.

"You brought an _army _with you?" The Duke shouted.

"What, no! I don't even know what that _is!" _Ed quickly defended, starting at the odd contraption. From his vantage point, he could see people on the gondola, staring down at them.

"Fire Nation war balloons..." He heard Mai mutter. Then she tsk'd, "Azula must have sent them after us."

"The crazy chick with the blue fire?" Ed asked. Not even a few feet away from him, another blast of fire collided with the ground. Blasts can be heard from above, destroying the temples and structures from above and sending the debris down to them.

"If they keep firing at us like that, at this rate the whole temple will be destroyed!" The boy in the wheelchair said worriedly, steering himself away from the falling blocks.

The short one fumed. She turned to face the blimps and began jumping and flailing her arms, "You idiots! Stop firing! Aang isn't even here! Get out of here"

Ed's head perked up, "He isn't?"

"Where did they go?" Mai asked quickly.

Ty Lee jumped when the flames almost burned the sleeve of her pants. She tugged on her friend's arm, "Mai, we need to leave."

"You're with them," The Duke said, pointing to the blimps. "Why should I tell you?"

"If I was with them then why would they be firing at me?" Mai responded tersely.

"Sucks for you 'cause I don't know where they went," The Duke said, sticking his tongue at them childishly and folding his arms. "All I know is is that they went to look for some loud, short kid."

"_Don't call me short!" _Ed instantly shouted. "Wait..."

"That's good enough," Mai concluded, spinning on her heel and toward the staircase. Ed frowned where he stood. Aang and all those kids went to look for him? That's odd. Why would they want to see him again. Unless they broke something again, Ed snorted to himself.

The sound of rapid footsteps pulled him out of his daze. The three kids were running to the room behind the fountain, "Hey, where are you going?" He shouted after them.

"We're leaving, obviously," The Duke said simply, and then they all disappeared behind one of the walls.

Ty Lee grabbed Ed's arm and pulled him towards the stairs. "Come on!" She said. "This place is about to collapse."

Ed followed her without hesitation. His makeshift staircase crumbled beneath his feet with each blast of fire that collided with it, but he managed to reach the top in one piece. He was surprised to see that the lizardhorses were still where they left them, sitting on the floor patiently and obediently.

They settled themselves on the animals and Ed cringed at the same seating arrangements. "I thought you said you'll give me this thing."

"You got my name wrong," Ty Lee chirped. The lizardhorse suddenly stood on it's hind legs when a fireball was shot in front of it. The girl pulled at the reigns tightly as she tried to steer the spooked animal. "Hold on!" She yelled back at Ed.

"What do you think I'm doing!" Ed shouted back.

Ty Lee ignored him and steered the animal. The lizardhorse calmed down and began to gallop, following behind Mai.

"We need to get to the forest and lose them," Mai shouted. Ty Lee nodded in agreement and set her eyes on the trees that were dead ahead.

Ed looked behind him and paled at the sight at how close the blimps were. There were two of them, and they were steadily getting closer to the ground as they flew.

Blasts exploded behind them and Ty Lee and Mai swung at the reigns of their animals, commanding them to go faster. They entered the forest quickly, their speed making it hard to avoid the trees that were in front of them.

Mai looked up and rolled her eyes at the sight of the blimps. "Annoying," she muttered. Having both of these blimps trail them was a pain. They were burning the forest entirely as they followed. Azula sure drilled it in the soldier's heads to be persistent.

She turned to Ty Lee and Ed. "Split up," she said.

"What?"

"_What?"_

"Just do it,"Mai bit. "It'll be easier to take them out one by one."

Ty Lee frowned at the idea and bit her lip. She really didn't want to separate from Mai and leave her alone. But Mai was almost never wrong. So if she thinks that splitting up would be the best bet, then so would she. Ty Lee nodded to her friend, "Okay."

"Wait – _we're splitting up?" _Ed sputtered. "I don't have time to split up! I have places to go!"

His words fell on deaf ears, as usual. He held on tightly when Ty Lee made a sharp turn to the opposite direction of Mai. He looked up and saw that one of the blimps also turned along with them while one continued to follow the other girl.

He looked at Ty Lee, "Now what?"

She shrugged, "I dunno."

* * *

"Yup. Ed was definitely here." Sokka declared with a convinced frown, looking at the '_battleground', _as the local spectators were calling it. He sidestepped the pieces of charred ground when he circled the site.

"What makes you say that?" Toph asked from next to him.

"Who else can turn a tree into a _that?" _He exclaimed, pointing to the unnaturally deformed tree_. _It looked like the tree split itself in half and each part coiled within itself and then combusted.

"Oh, yes," Toph said sarcastically. "How silly of me to forget what trees _look like."_

Sokka winced, "right...sorry."

"What do you think happened here..." Katara asked softly, her eyes worriedly scanning the setting because there was only _one _person who could create this much damage – the black ashes, the charred ground, the burning trees – and cause her so much distress.

"You wouldn't believe it!" A man said from next to her. Katara didn't even notice the man there and she jumped at his sudden voice. He laughed at her surprise.

"You saw what happened?" Aang – who Katara had absolutely _no _idea where _he _came from – said. He must have heard from wherever he was and became interested.

"Sure did!" The man answered, his voice full of pride for himself. Sokka, Toph and Zuko were instantly besides their friends, prepared to hear what this man with the clean shirt and dirty face had to say.

The man smiled at the sight of his audience and spread his arms dramatically, setting the scene with his movements for them to visualize it, "It was morning, you see. I was just cutting down the trees for some firewood, because since it was raining, it made it easier to cut them, y'know?"

They didn't know, but they nodded nonetheless, beckoning him to continue. "So there I was, minding my own business, just me and my trusty ax, when all of a sudden, I hear voices. I say to myself, now what kind of wrong minded person would be out here in this rain? So I walked over to the voices, prepared to lecture them why they were out, 'cause I worry, ya know?"

Again, they nodded but not in agreement. Now, the man's eyes were wide with excitement – his tale began drawing in a couple more people that were in the area who were fascinated to hear what he would have to say – and he moved his hands once more, "And then I saw them – the rain was heavy but I could see three girls and a boy! And not just any boy, a boy with hair as bright as the sun; it was golden, I tell ya!"

Murmurs were exchanged between the crowd and Aang shared a troubled look with his friends. Three girls – Azula and her friends. It had to be them. The chances of the 'boy with golden hair' being Ed were as high as the trees in this forest.

"I thought," the man said with a shrug. "That these kids were just in one of them cults or something, ya know how crazy kids can be these days." The crowd shared a chuckle with him and it really was starting to feel like they were in the theater instead of what could be a crime scene. "But it wasn't!" He said loudly, suddenly, making the crowd swallow their laughter. Sokka rolled his eyes. These people were so easily amused.

"One of the girls was yellin' with the golden boy – I thought they were having an argument of some sort – but then! Then that girl began firebending – bending _blue _fire – and my heart almost froze because who else bent blue fire? It was Princess Azula!"

The crowd gasped. One woman held her forehead, like she was about to faint.

"The Princess was attacking the boy – shooting her fire at him and lightning. He must have been an enemy or even a traitor, right here in our village!" It was odd to see the man smiling while telling such a grim story. "But then – you wouldn't believe it! At first I thought the golden boy was an earthbender the way he was bending – making walls with the ground. But _then_, out of nowhere he bent water!"

His audience became skeptical and muttered their doubts loud enough for him to hear, which made him defensive of his superb tale. "It's true, I tell ya! I'm as shocked as you all but I saw it with my own two eyes. He made the water turn to nothin'!"

They were still all skeptical, but Aang believed him and called out, "What happened after that?"

The man smiled at the one person who wasn't questioning his story but then grew nervous, "I, uh … well. The Princess grew awful angry and the fight was coming closer to me so I, well, left."

Immediately, the crowd grew dysfunctional, shouting at the man that he was a coward and if he didn't see what happened entirely, why should they believe them? As the man tried to calm the people and make them listen, the five kids slid their way out of the rowdy crowd.

They furthered themselves from the people and Aang breathed out a sigh – he didn't like being squashed by other people. Not a fun thing to go through.

"So Ed and Azula really did get into a fight," Sokka concluded. "I guess that answers that question."

Toph scowled. "Stupid tree cutting guy," she muttered. "If only he wasn't such a wimp and stayed till the end of the fight so we would know what happened when it finished."

Katara nodded. It would be more helpful if they could know if Ed was able to escape Azula. "But at least we know that Azula was with those two friends of hers."

"That was obvious, anyways," Zuko said. "She takes Mai and Ty Lee everywhere she goes." He let out a throaty sigh, "But it isn't enough. We need to ask more people, find out more on what happened."

A group of four people were walking down the road with their hoods over their heads to protect them from the light drizzle. Zuko thought they looked like travelers, which was perfect. Maybe on their way here they interacted with Ed or saw something and could give them more clues.

He rounded the group quickly and asked the short but plump man as politely as he could, "Excuse me, but have you – " but his words died on his mouth when he caught a glimpse of the man's face through the hood. It was amazing how his face was able to make Zuko's insides freeze over and shatter.

"Hey, Zuko. What's wrong?" Aang asked, walking up to him but Zuko didn't answer – or couldn't.

The man made a swift glance at Aang and smiled a smile that made Zuko's eyes brim with fresh tears.

"I am so happy," the man began, taking off his hood. "That you found your way, even without my guidance."

"U-Uncle..." Zuko rasped, his voice heavy with emotion, his eyes blinking wildly because _was it really Uncle?_

Iroh smiled at his nephew softly, his eyes almost glowing under the gray sky, "There is no need for you to say anything, my nephew. For there are no words that can make me more proud than I am now."

Zuko tried to swallow the lump in his throat but his efforts were futile. Before he could say anything else, Iroh wrapped his arms around his nephew and Zuko found himself doing the same. "I'm so sorry, Uncle. For … everything. I'm ..." He was able to choked out, his face buried in the shorter man's shoulder. He wanted to say more – _he had so much more to say_ – but seeing his Uncle now … he wasn't prepared. He wasn't ready. He couldn't get any of the intended words out.

"Why are you apologizing?" Iroh asked, sincerely curious. "You should be patting yourself on the back. Actually, I think I will do that right now." And he did, pulling himself away from his nephew and then softly patting him on his back with a humorous smile.

"You're not … mad at me?" Zuko asked tentatively, cautiously. Iroh's carefree attitude was unexpected. If anything, he should be angry, not smiling!

The older man shook his head then shrugged. "There was never a moment where I felt I should."

Zuko's eyes widened. "But I left you there – !"

"No, Zuko." He said almost automatically, stopping his nephew from saying anymore. "You followed the path of destiny and passed one of the obstacles in your life." Iroh said sagely. At Zuko's confused look, he clarified. "Everything happens for a reason, and if you didn't do what you did, you wouldn't be here on the correct path."

Zuko frowned and Iroh said, "Your decision was the right one."

Sokka coughed to bring back attention to what was at hand, "Er, not to interrupt or anything but weren't you in prison or something...?" The other's seemed to have the same question judging by their dumbfounded expressions.

Iroh laughed, "_was _in prison. Do you really think I would stay in such a place that would serve me such despicable tea?"

Sokka awkwardly laughed with him, not really getting the joke. "Yeah … right."

"Sokka?" One of Iroh's companions asked, which surprised him because he completely forgot about those people's existence. What was even more surprising was that this stranger knew his name and _why did his voice sound so familiar? _The man pulled his hood down and Sokka's eyes widened. "_Dad?" _

"Dad!" Katara cried in unision, her voice much louder and a mixture of shock, joy and tears. She tackled her father into a hug and clung onto him so tightly that it was as if she let go, he would leave again.

Hakoda smiled and then laughed at his son's goofy grin and confused eyes. "Dad – _how? _You – invasion – taken – _how!?"_

"Aren't you going to even say hi to me?" Another one of Iroh's companions asked and Sokka instantly stopped his sputtering when he heard that beautiful voice and he really didn't want to hope for the best and be disappointed with a different outcome but _he really really wished that that voice belonged to who he thought it was._

She pulled her hood down and before she could even say a word Sokka was strangling her with a hug. Suki was gasping for air at his loving gesture, "S-Sokka … can't …. breath!" Which was overlapped by Sokka's rants of, "Suki, _holy crap – _you're okay, – you're alright – you're not in prison – you're not with Azula – you're not a prisoner – you're okay – yes – _yes!"_

He pulled away and started kissing her forehead then he cheek and her eyes and basically every part of her face while she laughed.

"Alright, let's turn it down a notch..." Hakoda said sternly and Katara giggled.

"But how," Aang blurted out loud, then covered his mouth in embarrassment and quickly elaborated, "Not that I'm not happy to see all of you! It's great, really, that you're all free, but how did you all manage to escape? Weren't you all taken prisoners by the Fire Nation?"

Sarcastically, Toph added, "Did the Fire Lord just decide that keeping prisoners was a waste of time or...?"

Hakoda laughed and shook his heads, "No, no – but you wouldn't believe it even if I told you!" Then, with a cocky smirk that he didn't really pull off, he whispered, "We escaped."

"You _escaped?" _Katara repeated in stupor. She turned to Suki for confirmation and the other girl nodded.

"How did you escape?" Sokka asked enthusiastically and Hakoda laughed. "It's a long story that I'm sure you'd love to hear, but maybe later. For now, I'd like you all to meet a good friend of mine."

He gestured to the remaining person behind him and the man pulled down his hood. Sokka sighed in relief at the unfamiliar face, since he was sure that his heart couldn't take another shock.

This man, unlike Hakoda, was able to pull off the cocky smirk. He looked at the children with his gleaming eyes and said, "Where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself; my name's Roy Mustang. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

* * *

**Author's Note: Basically, I hope that answered all your "WHERE IS MUSTANG!?" questions. Tehehe.**

**Three things **

**First: I couldn't answer reviews directly (sorry! My computer is literally shit with a keyboard.) so for your questions, please first check the first chapter's A/N for questions about the setting and age of the characters, because all the basic questions that you might have are answered there. If you do have a question that I didn't answer, feel free to PM me or review. Also, somebody asked about possibly writing about what was happening in Amestris - answer: yes, I actually thought of that but don't expect it any time soon, I might leave it for the last chapter. Another question was whether I'll write about what Mustang went through in the Avatar world - answer: yes. When? Soon... And lastly, someone asked how old Ed was: It's a year before the series started (FMA:B) so 14. **

**Second: Excuse the mistakes. It was rushed. Next chapter will probably be the same length but out sooner (preferably before November)**

**Third: Happy Birthday, Naruto and Gintoki!**

******Edit!:**Accidentally wrote Smellerbee instead of the Duke. Whoops**. **

* * *

Next Chapter: Lost and Found

-_Ed learns that Ty Lee is alot stronger than she looks and the GAang cannot even grasp the thought on how a sweet man like Mustang could be somehow associated with a foul mouthed brat like Ed. _


	5. Lost and Found

**Intersecting Points**

* * *

**Part I - 5**

* * *

**Lost and Found**

* * *

**/ "****_Not all those who wander are lost_****. ****"****/**

Something about this stranger's name ran a jolt of memory through Toph's brain, but she couldn't place it. She _knew _she heard that name before - _somewhere - _but she just didn't know when and where she did. As hard as she tried, she just couldn't place it. Eventually, though, she shrugged it off. If she couldn't remember it then it wasn't important enough to think about and therefore was useless information.

Katara was the first to shake the man's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Mustang," she said, tasting the odd name in her mouth. "I'm Katara and this," she gestured to Sokka, "is my brother, Sokka." She pointed to everybody else, "That's Toph, Aang, and Zuko." She preferred it if she introduced everyone, just in case someone – _especially Sokka_ – said something stupid and ruined their first impression, which they often did.

"No need for the formalities," Mustang said quickly. "They make me feel old; Just Mustang will do." She felt her cheeks heat up when he smiled down at her with his sharp eyes and warm smile. "T-That's a nice name." She couldn't help but stutter. He had such a smooth and sweet voice that it sang in her ears. He was so mysterious that it was captivating.

"Weird, too," Sokka said, killing the mood. He then added quickly, "No offense."

"I don't mind. I've been getting that a lot lately," Mustang sighed, turning to frown at his companions.

"But it is!" Hakoda defended, folding his arms. "It's not a name _I've_ ever heard of, so it's not my fault that I find it strange."

"Finding it strange and mispronouncing it terribly are two different things," Mustang muttered, rolling his eyes.

"It was one time!"

"You slaughtered my name." Mustang quickly shot back.

Suki cradled her forehead in exasperation, "Oh god, not this again."

"A man's dignity is in his name," Iroh commented wisely.

"Exactly," Mustang said with a terse nod, folding his arms.

Sokka looked from one man to the other, his eyebrows dipped in confusion. "How do you two know each other, anyways?" He asked his father. The way these two men acted was as if they were long time friends, however Sokka never remembered one time where his father said anything about a man named Roy Mustang, so he was obligated to feel suspicious.

Knowing how his son would react to the answer, Hakoda replied sheepishly and a little quietly, "Well, we met in prison..."

_"What!?_" As expected, Sokka wasn't happy with that answer. Hakoda sighed and tried to suppress his son's oncoming rant as quickly as he could, "I know what you're thinking, Sokka, but..."

"What I'm _thinking," _Sokka stressed. "Is that my father and girlfriend are hanging around a _prison escapee!"_

"_We're_ escapees, too, you know," Suki said flatly, hands on her hips.

"But we don't _know_ him!" Sokka exclaimed. "For all we know, he could have been arrested for being a mass murderer who killed his victims by boiling their skin and feeding them to his children or something." He turned to Mustang, "No offense."

"Somehow, I feel offended," Mustang replied dryly.

"Stop saying stupid things, Sokka," Suki said tiredly, rolling her eyes. "He's a good guy. We wouldn't be with him otherwise."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because he helped us." Hakoda tried, knowing how his son overreacted when he worried. He could only imagine how Katara had put up with him all these years while he was away. That girl must have one hell of a patience.

"Helped you how?" Aang asked curiously.

"Escape," Suki answered. "He helped us escape the Boiling Rock."

Katara's eyes widened. "_He _helped you escape prison?"

"Wait," Zuko said suddenly. "You were in the Boiling Rock? _The _Boiling Rock? And you all escaped?"

"What's the Boiling Rock?" Toph asked.

"It's a high security prison in a secluded island _inside _a volcano floating on boiling hot water," Zuko answered, and just the way he answered it made the four kids' eyes widen with every word that came out of his mouth. They all turned to Mustang, their mouths hanging, gaping like bewildered fish.

Mustang couldn't help but smirk at the children's awe. "For a man of my status, it was nothing," he said smoothly.

"That's insane!" Toph gasped. "How did you escape? Did you _fly!?_"

Mustang shrugged nonchalantly, "I simply used my prominent skills and intelligence to find the best way to escape."

Suki cleared her throat rather loudly and Mustang blinked and added, "Oh – and of course, my lovely assistants helped me as well."

"Assistants?" Hakoda echoed loudly with a scowl.

"You wouldn't have got out if it weren't for us!" Suki huffed.

"_We_," Hakoda emphasized, "made your plan _work." _

Mustang sighed melodramatically and turned to the kids, "You see what I had to put up with? Such selfish people."

"That's our line!" Suki exclaimed.

Katara giggled. "But what _was_ your plan? How did you escape?" She asked, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. She was enthralled with the idea of her father escaping from prison. He was always adventurous and bold, but to escape from prison was on a whole other level.

Mustang smirked when he answered, "Well, it was quite complicated."

Suki snorted immediately, "He's exaggerating. It wasn't _that_ amazing."

Mustang shook his head, "She's just saying that because I rejected her plan."

"My plan was just fine!"

"To be honest, your plan could have gotten us killed," Hakoda said nervously.

"Well, _your _plan was stupid!"

"I didn't even have a plan! I just went along with Roy's plan." Hakoda defended.

"His plan was stupid, too!"

"To be fair," Sokka spoke up. "His plan _did _successfully get you guys out..." Suki's head turned quickly to face Sokka, her glare burning holes in his eyes. Sokka coughed uncomfortably. "...I'll shut up now."

"I want to know what this awesome plan was," Toph exclaimed in frustration. The way they talked about it made it sound like it was the world's greatest scheme ever plotted. "'Cause if you're so great with making plans, then you could probably devise a really kickass plan to take out the Firelord."

"That's what I said," Hakoda said with a nod, glancing pointedly at Mustang, who was rolling his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something but Sokka beat him to the punch with his sudden offended exclamation of, "Hey! _I'm _the plan guy here! That's my job!"

"And _I'm _the one who's supposed to defeat the Firelord!" Aang said, his tone the same as Sokka's hurt one. However, that statement came out of his mouth too quickly and he regretted saying it instantly – why did he sound proud when he said that? There's nothing to be proud of when he was supposed to be taking someone's life! Now it sounded like he was eager to do the job – which he wasn't! But that also didn't mean he didn't _want _to end the war – he did! He just didn't want to kill. Aang groaned at what a contradicting mess he was.

"Oh? So _you're _the famed Avatar I've been hearing about?" Mustang asked with raised eyebrows. He noticed how the kids quickly tensed at his question and he chuckled. "Don't be nervous. I know about your predicament, so I won't be mouthing off to anyone."

His tone was sincere and gentle, Katara noted, but she also noticed how Aang nonchalantly tugged at his hat that covered his tattoo. She huffed. Aang had suddenly become very apprehensive towards people and Katara had been having a difficult time figuring out why. She supposed it might be because of Ed, but she wasn't exactly sure.

Mustang took note of Aang's cautious eyes and extended a hand, "It's a privilege to meet you, Avatar Aang."

Aang expected this man to be gushing over the fact that he was _"The Savior of The World" _like most people did when they met him, or even patronizingly stare at him with judging eyes for his age and his _undeserved _status, but Mustang was doing neither of those things. He was genuine in his words and held a fleeting atmosphere.

Aang smiled. He took the extended hand and shook it.

Then quickly pulled away when they touched. Aang frowned.

Mustang quirked a brow, "Is ... something wrong?"

Aang stared at his hand. That was ... weird. It was like a light jolt just ran through his hand and towards his brain. It was almost like the feeling he got when...

"What's wrong, Aang?" Katara asked, disrupting his train of thought. He noticed that everybody was looking at him with the same concern that revolved around Katara's eyes and instantly felt bad for making them worry over something that wasn't even that big of a deal.

He shook his head, "Ah, it's nothing." He couldn't stop staring at his hand, however, because even though the feeling had faded instantly, the aftertaste was still there. "I just got a strange feeling … it was almost like what I felt when I was near Ed …"

"Did you say Ed?" Mustang interjected quickly, his voice suddenly much louder and demanding. His facial expression changed rapidly, Katara saw, to something more serious and authority like. It was completely different from the man two seconds ago, and his face was almost scary – not that she was staring at him or anything! She just happened to be looking at his face … a lot. "As in _Edward Elric?_" Mustang continued with his pointed questions. "How do you know him?"

"How do _you _know him?" Sokka shot back. There was something fishy about this guy if he knew Ed, since nobody on this _planet _knew him.

"That's not very nice, Sokka, he asked first." Hakoda sighed.

"That's it!" Toph shouted with a snap, her outburst shocking everybody around her. She pointed to Mustang and said, "I knew your stupid name sounded familiar!"

"Stupid...?" Mustang repeated with a frown.

"What are you talking about Toph?" Sokka asked. "You know this guy?"

"He's the guy Ed was talking about. Don't you remember?"

"So you _do _know Edward?" Mustang tried again.

However, he was plainly ignored. "Oh. _Oh," _Katara gasped, clasping her hands. "I remember! I remember!" She turned to Mustang with a resolved nod, "No wonder why he looks so different."

"Can somebody please tell us what's going on?" Suki asked loudly.

"Yes, preferably, tell _me _what's going on." Mustang expressed with a commanding boom. He wasn't smiling before like he did when he first met them; he had the eyes of a commander waiting for answers. "Do you all know Edward?"

"It depends on which Edward you're talking about." Sokka asked with a pushed up frown and superficial eyes.

"I doubt there are that many people that go by the same name in this place." Mustang muttered back.

"Don't act so leery, Sokka!" Katara huffed, rolling her eyes and shoving her brother. She looked at Mustang and answered his question, "Two days ago we met a short kid with blonde hair; is that maybe the same person you're talking about?"

He nodded, frowning. Even though he was looking at her, his eyes were far away. "So he did come here, after all..." Mustang muttered with a scowl. His face held a mixture of terse annoyance and irritation, but combined it made him look like he was genuinely upset.

That confused Katara, because Ed never fully explained his relationship with this person – _nor did he even tell them that this Mustang character was an adult, which made Katara even more curious. She expected him to be looking for a friend who was the same age or something, not a grown up. _– so she couldn't fully interpret what he was feeling.

He looked like he was calculating; thinking of a plan. Sokka usually had that look in his eyes when he was thinking of something clever, but the gleam in Mustang's eyes was something more in depth.

He blinked, and the look was gone and he was looking at all of them. "Where is he now? Can you take me to him?"

"The last time we saw him, he was in that village," Zuko answered, pointing behind him. "We came to see if he was still here, but he was gone by the time we arrived."

Mustang cursed under his breath and muttered something on lines of, "That little brat" that only Toph could pick up. Louder, he asked, "Do you know where he might have gone?"

"We know he was headed South," Sokka spoke up, but then quietly added, "But he might have changed direction..."

"Why?"

Sokka scratched his head, trying to form the words, "Er, well..." He pointed to torn up area behind him where the people had begun sightseeing all the damage caused by their beloved princess, "He sort of got into a fight, so we don't really know where he headed after that..."

"A fight?" Hakoda asked. "Was it with Azula?"

"How'd you know?" Aang asked, but he was ignored by Suki's murmuring of, "So she _wasn't _lying..."

"Wait, you guys met with Azula?" Zuko asked, surprise lacing his voice.

Iroh nodded, "Not even that long ago, too," and left it at that, without elaborating it. Confused, Zuko prepared to speak up, to ask more about the topic – because if they encountered Azula not that long ago, then who's to say that Ed was nearby as well – but Mustang beat him to it, asking, "I need you kids to tell me everything that you know; its imperative that I find Edward as soon as possible –"

"Perhaps we should continue this conversation elsewhere," Iroh offered, glancing at the villagers that were walking around them subtly. Their footsteps squashed on the muddy floor and their eyes were clouded with wariness just like the fog. Katara nodded at the offer. The villagers here were quite hungry for gossip and shrewd of strangers.

"I saw an abandoned mining mill on our way here," Suki said quietly, glancing at the leering eyes behind her. "We should hide out in there until we get ourselves organized."

Everybody nodded in agreement, casually slipping out the area without trying to attract any unwanted attention.

As they walked, Sokka noticed Aang's disconcerted face and asked, "What's up, Aang? Something wrong?"

Pulled out of his thoughts by Sokka's voice, Aang faltered in his words, "Huh? Oh, no, it's nothing." But his confused frown was still plastered on his face when Sokka turned around, because Aang _was _confused, and very bothered with this situation.

This Mustang person was supposedly from the same world as Ed, so why did he feel so normal? _Why didn't he emit that same horrible feeling that Ed did?_

* * *

"Do you remember the plan?" Ed asked lowly.

Ty Lee bobbed her head in what he presumed was a nod, "Uh-huh! Got it."

Ed wasn't convinced, but he nevertheless nodded back because he was practically the structure of this plan and it didn't really matter if she was ready or not. They hid behind one of the over-sized trees, their backs to its bark, their heads tilted to the sky, waiting. They could hear the light humming of the flying contraptions in the distance – following them – but they stayed still and silent, waiting for that metal hunk to come closer.

He had to time his plan perfectly. It wasn't a genius plan or anything, but it was acceptable. If all goes well, the soldiers wouldn't be chasing them much longer. If only that goddamn metal blimp would hurry up _and come closer! _

_"_Now?" Ty Lee asked.

"No, not now," Ed hissed at her.

She frowned. "Why are you whispering? You know they can't hear us, right?"

"I _know," _Ed whispered back. He wasn't in the mood to explain to her that the silence would help them hear the blimp approaching them better. He chose to just keep quiet and hope that she would figure it out eventually and _stop asking questions! _

The humming soon became a roaring in mere seconds. He looked up and saw the war balloon slowly making its way above them. Ed smirked. _Perfect. _The blimp cast a huge shadow down below on them. It's propellers howled at the trees, making their branches dance. Ed turned to Ty Lee, "Now."

She smiled and threw her hands up with a squeal, "Yay!" and flipped her way to the open, right in the vantage point of the balloon, no longer under the protection of the cover of the trees. She cartwheeled around the space, shouting, "Look at me! Look at me!"

Just as Ed calculated, the soldiers did look at her and began shooting fire at her. He sighed in relief when Ty Lee was able to effortlessly dodge them by splendidly jumping over them. To be honest, he was nervous at first when she had offered to help in his plan. She promised him that she wouldn't get hurt, but regardless he was a little worried. Having someone get hurt because of him wasn't something he wanted to burden himself with; especially the people in this world, who already have their own problems to deal with. He was relieved, however, to see she could hold her own.

"Come on, losers!" She taunted, walking on her hands and clapping her feet together. She stuck out her tongue, "I'm right here! Hello? Try and hit me!"

The blasts of fire ceased, and it was silent. The long haired girl jumped back on her feet and frowned. She looked to Ed with a confused look, but Ed kept his gaze to the war balloon. He waited, and Ty Lee waited.

Suddenly, the balloon began to descend slowly towards Ty Lee. Ladders were thrown from the gondola and the soldiers began to climb down. Ed smiled. Just as he predicted. Since they couldn't hit her by shooting fire, the only other method was to attack her on foot. _Idiots. _As the blimp began to come down, Ed clapped his hands and slammed them on the tree he was leaning on.

Sparks flew out in a frenzy, the transmutation taking action. The tree quivered, then began to extend. Ed ran to another tree on the other side and repeated the same transmutation. The trees grew and stretched, it's dark branches reaching out and wrapping themselves around the blimp, pulling it down. The metal creaked under the pressure of the trees' arms, hauling the monster to the ground with a loud _smash._

Ty Lee quickly ran and took cover behind a large tree when the blimp made its forceful landing. The ground shook, leaves fell, and dirt flew. When the shaking stopped, she peeked her head and gasped. "_Wow!"_

She turned to Ed, who wasn't putting any effort into suppressing his cocky smirk. Ty Lee ran to him, excitement blazing in her eyes, her voice filled with awe, "That was _so _cool! The was the _coolest _cool thing I've ever seen, ever! You're so cool, Eddie!"

His smile turned to a scowl in an instant, "I told you to stop calling me that!" He huffed, dusting hid hands off as if he got them dirty,"Well, mission accomplished." He kicked a rock at the fallen and crushed balloon, "Stupid hunk of metal."

"Can you teach me that?" Ty Lee asked, eyes as wide as his fist. "The clapping? Can you? Can you? Cause I wanna do that so I can be as cool as you! Please? Teach me! _Teach me!"_

He threw his hands up, "Gah! I told you, I can't teach you! Stop asking, jeez."

"You're so mean, Eddie," Ty Lee pouted, puffing her cheek.

"I'm not mean, I'm _honest – _and I'm not _Eddie!" _He looked around the forest with a frown, "Where's that horse mutant, anyways? I want to get out of here – _whoa!"_

A stream of fire just barely missed his head when it propelled itself his way. If it wasn't for his quick reflexes, he would have been one charred alchemist. Ed snapped his head to the direction where the fire came from, and grit his teeth when he saw soldiers picking themselves up from the rubble, with barely enough injuries to put them out of commission.

"You should have just stayed underneath your balloon," Ed growled. Great, _more_ set backs. It was as if the world was conspiring against him in anyway possible.

One of the soldiers, one with thick eye-brows and a half shaven face, looked at Ed with an odd gleam in his eyes. "Yellow hair and yellows eyes, just as the Princess described. The golden rat, I presume?"

Ed's left eye twitched, "_I'm not a freakin' rat!"_

The soldier shrugged, "Doesn't matter what you are. All I care about is the promotion I get when I bring your burned corpse to the Princess."

"Is that the _only _thing soldiers care about?" Ed glowered. "Promotion this, promotion that, blah blah blah. You know, there are other things in life besides promotions!"

The man frowned, "Talkative and doesn't know when to shut up – also what the Princess described."

Ed fumed and waved his arms angrily, "Oh, screw you _and _your princess, you gorilla freak!"

The soldier ignored him and turned to his comrades, gruffly saying, "Take him out quickly."

"I'd like to see you try!" Ed growled.

His eyes scanned the men – two, three, four, five.

With their fire bending abilities – as much as he hated to admit – he probably wouldn't be able to take them all on at once. But if he were make an elaborate distraction, he could make his way to the lizardhorse and escape.

However, his plan devising was abruptly halted when Ty Lee stood in front of him.

"Idiot! What are you doing?" He hissed violently.

"It's my turn to fight," she said simply, raising her firsts. "You had your turn and now it's mine."

"This isn't a game, you moron!" Ed whispered harshly. Ty Lee grinned back at him, "Sure it is!"

What happened next happened so fast that Ed wasn't even sure it _did _happen. All he remembered was Ty Lee cartwheeling and flipping and jumping around the five soldiers and just … just _poking them. _

All he was able to do was _blink_ and all of a sudden, all five of those men were on the floor, groaning, while Ty Lee stood above them, her smile never faltering.

Ed blinked. Then blinked again.

_What!?_

She turned to Ed and punched the air. "Done!"

Ed wasn't even aware that he was gawking but when he was he continued to gawk because _holy crap! what the hell just happened. _The soldiers weren't even given the time to shoot out any fire before Ty Lee approached them and knocked them down with her _fingers._

_Her fingers!_

Ed stared at the men on the floor, twitching and immobile. They didn't even _look _hurt! _What the hell!_

His voice returned to him after a few seconds, and the only thing he was able to manage out was a shaky, "H-_How!?"_

Ty Lee giggled. She twirled, stepping over the men, her braid dancing behind her head, and landed in front of the bewildered Ed. She flicked his forehead, "Silly! Weren't you watching?"

"_Yes. _But that doesn't mean I know _how _you did it!"

"Like this," and then she jabbed his flesh arm and Ed gasped when he felt all feeling drain from it and his nerves static and die out.

His arm hung limply from his shoulder and Ed yelped at the loss of mobility. "What the hell!" His flesh arm swung lifelessly from side to side, a numb static feeling taking over it instead. "What did you do!"

"I stopped your chi," she answered with a shrug. "I just hit your pressure points and _bam! _You're paralyzed! Isn't it neat?"

"No, it's not _neat! _It's freaky as hell!" Ed exclaimed, trying to move his arm but getting no respond. "Fix it! Put it back! Make it work again!"

The girl rolled her eyes at his behavior. "You're such a baby," she teased. She grabbed his arm and massaged the point where she jabbed. Feeling blossomed back to his arm like a flower and Ed sighed in relief when he was able to curl his hand and bend his elbow. He pulled his arm away from Ty Lee and glared at her. "Don't ever do that gain. You can do that to _them," _he stressed, pointing at the soldiers, " But not to me. Ever. Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, okay, whatever, _baby_."

The soldier with the bushy brows groaned, and turned his head to face Ed. "You've made enemies with the wrong people, kid. You're gonna regret this."

Ed scoffed, "Big talk for a guy who got knocked down by a poke."

Something caught his eye and a wonderful idea formed in his head. He cocked his head to the side, looking at the man, "Say..." Ed murmured. He pointed at the man's red shirt that was under the armor with a sly smile, "Is that made of cotton?"

* * *

Ed hugged his freshly transmuted coat as he and Ty Lee made their way around the forest on their lizardhorse – Mimi, that's what it's name was, although he didn't really see the relevance in remembering this smelly animal's name.

"Ah, how I missed red." Ed gushed. It wasn't as flamboyant as his original coat, but it covered his automail arm and was warm, which counted more than anything.

"Now we match! Yay!" Ty Lee cried with a toothy grin.

"Crap, now we match..." Ed groaned at the realization, hanging his head. This girl was so simpleminded that it made his head hurt.

He turned to look at the trees – oh _god _these damn trees. He was so frickin' sick of seeing _trees _everywhere he looked. _Trees trees trees! – _and sighed. Honestly, he was just simply _exhausted._

He was tired of riding on this horse lizard animal. He was tired of listening to Ty Lee rant on and _on _about how their identical braids were a sign of their undying friendship. He was tired of strangers shooting fire at him. He was tired of not understanding anything. He was tired of _this world _and this _reality._

He was tired of not having Alphonse by his side.

"Where do you think Mai is?" Ty Lee asked suddenly, and Ed's train of thought popped like an over-sized bubble.

"Beats me." He muttered. "For all I know, she could have been captured. Oh well."

"Don't say that!" Ty Lee gasped. "Mai is really strong! No one can capture her! She's the best."

Ed didn't argue with her on that one. The shock of seeing Ty Lee take out five soldiers was still present in his mind. He thought this girl was nothing but an _airhead – _he still thought that actually – but then, out of no where, she shows this amazing strength and ability and his whole opinion of her alters (slightly). He still couldn't believe it.

"Whatever." Ed said dejectedly. "I still don't see the reason why _I _have to look for her with you."

Ty Lee puffed a cheek. For someone who kept saying he was a genius, Eddie sure can be stupid sometimes. Not only did Mai go over with him _why _she wanted him along, but even she herself explained it to him, and she was getting bored with answering the same question over and over again. In the end, she answered with,"Because."

Ed blinked. "Because what?"

"Because." She repeated.

"That's not a legitimate reason!"

"You're not a legitimate reason!" She shot back.

"Gah! That doesn't even make sense!"

"You don't make sense!"

Ed shook his head and deflated, "I give up. I don't care. Just find Grumpy and let's get out of here."

With a smile, Ty Lee nodded. She liked it when Eddie listened to her.

They strode across the forest for a couple more yards until they found Mai, idly sitting on the floor, sleeping against a tree.

She opened one eye when she heard the footsteps and sighed irritably. "_Finally," _she muttered. "I thought I was going to have to wait out here all night." She put her fingers to her lips and whistled sharply. Thundering hooves slammed on the ground, and her lizardhorse appeared with a snort. Mai hopped on the animal and took the lead, "Let's go. I'm getting sleepy."

Ed counted down the seconds before Ty Lee started talking, but she was quicker than he expected. "Mai! I missed you so much! Did you have fun? Me and Eddie had fun! We brought down the war balloon and got rid of all the soldiers. You should have seen Eddie! He made the trees go up and broke the balloon! It was so cool!"

Mai turned to Ed with a strange look in her eyes and said, "Huh. Guess you're not so useless after all."

Ed _really _didn't like this girl. He _really really _didn't like her. "You're one to talk! You were sleeping this whole time!"

The atmosphere suddenly turned dark and violent. "_Napping_," Mai hissed at him, her eyes glowering. Ed recoiled back at the vicious look. She turned around muttered something violent under her breath that Edward was happy not hearing.

"So what happened to the war balloon that was chasing you?" Ty Lee inquired, asking the question that Ed wanted to ask. He was glad that Ty Lee spoke up first, because if it were him, Mai probably would have stabbed him or something.

"I don't know." She answered simply.

"You _don't know?" _Ed echoed.

Mai's face deadpanned, "Are you deaf? Yes, _I don't know_."

"Did you lose them?" Ty Lee asked innocently.

"I dunno. They were chasing me and then they weren't."

"Well, that's just great!" Ed exclaimed sarcastically. "Now they're going to go back to that freaky lightning chick and tell her and we're going to have more blimps chasing us, trying to burn us. _Good job."_

"Do you want a knife through your throat?" Mai asked. "Because I'd be happy to make that happen."

"Stop fighting, you two!" Ty Lee scolded with a frown. "Just be happy that we're all not hurt and together again. "

"Not really happy with the second part," Ed muttered lowly.

"So where are we going now?" Ty Lee asked, ignoring Ed's complaining by painfully elbowing him in the stomach to effectively make him stop talking.

Mai shrugged, also ignoring Ed and his coughing and gagging. "Back to the village, I'm still not through with finding Zuko."

"Can we get food on the way?"

"Sure."

"...I-I hate you g-guys," Ed gasped, clutching his stomach.

* * *

Mustang was honestly tired of walking, and was more than happy to be able to sit down, even if it was in some dankly looking cave. It was definitely an old mining cave, just like Suki had said. Rails were implanted on the cold ground and ancient, cracked lamps hung on the rocky walls. The mouth of the cave was wide, and Mustang had to wonder why such a redundant mine would be abandoned.

The mine, however, wasn't the basis of his thoughts. As he sat down in the cave, Mustang was transfixed with his current situation. The children sat down as well, and the Colonel couldn't help but look at them. _Study _them.

Since he arrived at this world, trust was his first priority. He didn't know the people here, or the culture, – basically, he was deprived of any information. It was a dangerous thing to be in a land that you have no knowledge of. It was like trespassing on enemy territory without a map.

He was lucky to have met Hakoda, Suki and Iroh while he could. They proved themselves trustworthy on the spot, and Mustang wasn't the type to just go around and share information with just about anyone.

The question was whether or not he could trust _these _kids.

They looked innocent enough, but Mustang could never be too sure. The two blue eyed kids – Sokka and Katara were their names – were Hakoda's children, so maybe if they were anything like their father, Mustang wouldn't need to be wary of them, the same for Iroh's nephew.

Then there was the girl in green – Toph – and judging by her cloudy eyes, he would take a guess and say she was blind. Mustang was apprehensive about her at first, but her lack of sight made her less of a threat in his eyes. Also, all these children seemed to be friends with the Avatar boy, who's made out to be a hero in this world.

Mustang wasn't sure where he should place his judgment, but he didn't have time to analyze these children more in depth, so for the time being he would trust them.

Also, according to all of them, they've all interacted with Fullmetal. He needed to hear more on that. Depending on what these kids say, Mustang's opinion about them might shift. Edward was even more judgmental than he was, so if Ed had told them anything, then he trusted them, in a sense.

"If you all don't mind," Mustang began, gaining all their attentions. He wanted to get straight down to business. "I would like for you to tell me anything _significant _that Edward may have told you." He stressed that particular word purposely, to see if they would be able to catch on.

Mustang wasn't surprised that it was the Katara girl who answered. She looked like she had a strong grip on the group, and seemed to manage it well. Before she answered, she looked to her father and the others quiet shyly, almost embarrassingly. She coughed and said, "Um, well, he told us that he was from another world...?"

"So you all know, too?" Suki gasped, letting out a relieved breath. Her shoulder's seemed to relax, as did everyone else's. "Good, now we don't have to keep it a secret."

"So you guys _are _from another world." Toph said. "I was starting to think that Ed was just insane."

"So it's true?" Sokka asked, his tone disbelieving. "All this talk about you guys coming from another _world? _You're telling me that's true? Are you serious?"

Katara rolled her eyes, "Didn't we agree that his weird bending was proof enough?"

"Bending?" Mustang echoed. Did Fullmetal really go around showing off his alchemy to just about everyone over here? Didn't he know how dangerous and foolish that was?

"He called it something else, though," Zuko clarified. "Acamly?"

"No, no it was alcums," Sokka said.

"I'm pretty sure it ended with a vowel..." Aang mumbled.

"Hey, isn't it the same weird bending that you do?" Hakoda asked, directing his question to Mustang.

"Oh, so all your people can perform that trick? How neat." Iroh commented, impressed.

"What else did he tell you?" Mustang asked over their chatter.

"Let's see," Toph hummed, bringing her hand out, counting her fingers off as she spoke. "He came from another world using his acalamaly mumbo-jumbo, he's got a metal arm and leg, he thinks he's a genius 'cause he could clap his hands, he _really _doesn't like you..."

"Toph!" Katara exclaimed.

"What? It's true, isn't it?"

"Yes, but you weren't answering the question," Katara hissed.

Mustang scowled violently, which caught everybody's attention."Why did he tell you all of this?" He muttered to himself loudly, enough for everyone to hear.

His tone was that of an angry parent's, Katara noted, and she felt like they just got Ed into a huge amount of trouble. She quickly tried to ease the atmosphere and probably Ed's sentencing as well, "Well, he didn't really just blurt it all out..."

"What do you mean?" Mustang asked.

"We sort of grilled him for the information." Sokka said nervously, scratching the back of this neck.

"_Grilled?"_Hakoda repeated, not really familiar with the younger generation's slang. He was familiar with prison slang from the days he spent in the Boiling Rock, but he didn't think he would ever understand the youths and their quirks.

"We made a deal with him that if he told us everything about him then we would tell him everything about us." Toph clarified off handily.

"So you pressured him into speaking?" Hakoda summarized. He turned to his children with a disapproving frown that only parents were able to pull off."That's an invasion of privacy – why would you do that?"

"We were curious!" Sokka defended, even if his vindication didn't really justify his actions. "And we couldn't help it – he was really strange!"

"That doesn't give you an excuse to pester someone into doing something they don't want to." Hakoda said sternly, staring his children down, making them squirm under his strict gaze.

"As if you're one to talk," Mustang scoffed under his breathe.

The other man frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Roy cleared his throat loudly, and in his best Hakoda impersonation, said,"_'We'll help you with your plan so long as you tell us everything about you.'" _He smirked, brows raised, and slyly asked, "Sound familiar?"

"...Oh," Hakoda murmured meekly, remembering his words from a few days earlier. He was mildly surprised to see that Mustang remembered that conversation word for word, but at this point was used to discovering new things about Mustang and what he was capable of.

"Aha!" Sokka exclaimed, pointing to his dad. "You're no better than us!"

"...That's not really something to be proud of." Iroh chuckled.

Pushing his hair back, Mustang sighed. "I suppose then Edward told you everything," he said. If Fullmetal trusted them, then he should be able to trust them too. It sounded logical that Ed would trade information, since he didn't like to be left in the dark.

A smirk suddenly formed on his face. The thought of Fullmetal coming to this world, immensely confused and baffled amused Mustang, and he really wished he could have seen Ed's face.

"I wouldn't say he told us _everything," _Aang said. "I mean, obviously he was leaving things out."

"And we didn't badger him about that!" Sokka said quickly, eyes at his father, who nodded approvingly.

Mustang inclined his head, "Yes, Fullmetal is quiet secretive."

Zuko cocked a brow. "Fullmetal?" He repeated.

Mustang blinked, unaware of what he had said. "Oh, yes, that's –" he paused briefly, however, before continuing. "A nickname." He left it at that. Edward was definitely secretive, and taking that fact into hand, there's a high probability that he hadn't told these kids about his ties with the military. For precautionary measures, Mustang chose to leave out that subject matter.

Toph narrowed her eyes at those words. Her toes clawed at the ground and she frowned. She felt his heartbeat quicken at the question. It was the first time since they met that he hesitated when speaking. She listened to his smooth words carefully, waiting for that clarity to break, and now she heard it. He was hiding something, just like Ed was, and she wanted to know what.

Maybe it was just a piece of personal information that they didn't want to let out, a side of her conscience reasoned, while the other side didn't give a crap and wanted to know. Toph was curious, and she didn't have a parent to lecture her on interfering with people's personal affairs like Katara and Sokka did. When she wanted something, she _got it._

"So what's the deal with you and Ed," Toph decided to throw out. It was definitely the question on everybody's mind: what was a kid like Ed doing with a man like _Mustang? _"Are you his dad or something?"

Mustang looked appalled at the notation."Surely I don't look old enough to have a child," He said, aghast."And even if I did, I can assure you that _my_ child would be much more obedient and well-mannered than Edward."

"Can't argue with you on that one," Zuko muttered. He would be lying if he said he had met someone more foul-mouthed than Ed.

Roy chuckled, "So, I'm going to take a wild guess and say he didn't tell you anything about me."

"_Well..._" Toph drawled, stretching the word. "If I remember correctly, he _did _say that you were a pyromaniac – and a bastard – and an asshole."

"That's expected."

"So how do you two know each other." Katara asked with wide eyes.

Mustang chuckled, "Ah, so this is your curiosity in action." He shook his head, knowing that the children wouldn't be satisfied with his answer, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to respect Edward's privacy; if he wanted it known, then he would have told you."

Their smiles slid off their faces like rain on wet paint, it was almost amusing.

At this point, Mustang wanted to turn the conversation over – he had his own questions that needed answers. These kids all seemed smart, and probably knew what kind of situation he and Edward were in, and what kind of situation _they _were in.

"So, earlier you told me that you may know where he had gone, correct?" Mustang inquired.

Sokka nodded, "Yeah, but the best we can tell you is that he was headed south and –" A loud grumbling interrupting him. "Crap, I'm meat deprived..." He muttered, staring down at his stomach. Suki rolled her eyes at his behavior, but couldn't help but sigh because _he's Sokka._

"You're not the only one," Iroh said, patting his large stomach. "Prison food doesn't really do much for this belly."

"Food does sound appealing at the moment," Hakoda murmured.

"Yeah, but where can we get some? I'm not going back to that creepy village again..." Sokka said with a shiver. Those villagers looked like they would eat them alive if they stepped back there again.

"I could catch us some fish from the river – it's not too far from here," Katara offered. She smiled at Aang playfully and patted his head. "And I'll get you some juicy lechaberries, too." Aang grinned wildly, showing his teeth.

"I'll come with you," Zuko stated, standing up.

Katara wanted to object; she could protect herself, and she especially didn't want _Zuko _to come. However, the tone of his voice left no room for argument, and his eyes seemed to be saying _I need to talk to you. _She nodded firmly at the message, "Sure."

She turned to Aang, and in a soft voice, said, "While we're gone, maybe you should tell Mustang about that _feeling _you and Ed keep getting. Maybe he can help." Aang nodded at the idea.

Honestly, more than anything, he wanted to get rid of that sensation that he got from Edward. It wasn't fair for either of them. Aang felt that it was preventing him from helping Ed, which was something he felt he _needed _to do.

He _wanted_ to help. Not because he was the Avatar, but because he was _human, _and it went against all his morals to turn his back on someone and deprive them of the help they needed.

Aang looked at Mustang and really hoped that this man could help.

* * *

It was really easy to catch fish when you were a waterbender, and even though it wasn't on the top of the list of _why waterbending was the best bending, _it was still somewhere on that list that Katara kept in her head. All she had to do was bend the water around the fish and pull them onto the ground. It was so simple that it made her life so much easier – fishing wise.

What she couldn't retrieve with waterbending were those lechaberries Aang was so fond of. They just happened to be as huge as melons and on the highest branch of those monster trees. Actually, she probably _could _get the berries by slicing the branch with water, but it was much more amusing to watch Zuko climb the tree with obvious struggle.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" She called out to him from the ground. She wondered if he could hear her from all the way up there – he must have been more than 15 feet high up – or if she was just talking to herself.

"How do you know I wanted to say anything?" Zuko grunted, extending his sword to cut the branch, while his other hand held on to the tree. Stupid berry just _had _to be an inch away from the tip of his sword.

At his question, Katara rolled her eyes. "You're easier to read than a book sometimes." Sometimes, his eyes were louder than his voice, and they were so easy to interpret, she thought to herself.

Zuko swung his sword, but it still didn't reach the branch. He extended his upper body more and finally sliced the berry off the tree, but his grip slipped and he fell. Luckily, Katara was prepared for his fall and bent the water from the river to snow and piled it under him, breaking his fall. He landed with a _poof! _ and a scowl.

He handed Katara the stupid berry with a deep frown and Katara happily accepted it with a grin. He still didn't understand why he couldn't just firebend the berry down. According to Katara, lechaberries didn't _taste good when they heated_, but he still didn't understand the legitimacy of that reason.

"What do you think of Mustang?" Zuko finally asked when he wiped the snow from his clothes.

"Mustang?" Katara frowned and thought of an answer, which she came up with faster than Zuko expected. "Well, he's really sweet and _such_ a gentlemen – it's a wonder how me managed to get stuck with someone like Ed."

"Don't you find that strange?" Zuko asked pointedly, his face contorted with confusion like he just asked himself that question. "When we asked him, he avoided the question entirely."

"No, he didn't." She said. "He just said that only if Ed told us, then he would also tell us..." She paused and scratched her head."Huh. Well, now that I think about it, that _does _sound odd." She shook her head, though,"I'm sure it's nothing. You're just being paranoid."

"He's hiding something – both of them." Zuko mumbled suspiciously.

"Everyone hides something, Zuko. They don't _have_ to tell us everything."

Zuko stopped walking and sent her a blank look."So you're telling me you _don't _care about this _huge_ secret that they're keeping from us?"

"Of course I do!" She yelped a little too quickly. She regained her composure and said quietly, "I'm just being mature and respecting their privacy."

"..._Right_." The firebender drawled. "Let's see how long _that_ lasts."

He stopped suddenly, his head perked up. "What's that sound?" He asked. It sounded like drumming, but it was getting louder, and faster.

"What sound? I don't hear anything," Katara asked, but then her ears picked up the sound of something...stomping? It almost sounded like a loud heartbeat, or running feet, or a mini stampede, or –

"Hide!" Zuko whispered, grabbing her arm and pulling her behind a tree. They leaned their backs against the heavy bark and heard the sound become louder, and louder, and louder until it was right next to them.

Katara peaked her head from behind the tree to get a good look at what was making that sound. Two large animals galloped past her in thundering speed – and then her eyes caught a glimpse of gold and her heart skipped a beat.

"_ED!" _She shouted before Zuko could shush her or before she could register that she had called out.

She watched as Ed – yes, that was definitely Ed! Nobody else has golden hair like his and wore a blinding red coat – shot up at the sound of his name and twisted himself all too quickly, making him lose balance on the animal he was riding and fall down.

Katara quickly got up and ran to him, Zuko on her tail. Her heart was beating frantically in her chest at the possibility. Her luck was surely amazing if she was able to find Ed the _minute_ they needed to find him the most. Who would've thought?

"Ed!" She cried again when she reached him.

The blond groaned on the floor where he lay and he slowly sat up, rubbing his shoulder, "_Why _did you have to yell? You almost gave me a heart attack!" He blinked and looked at the two of them, "Oh shit! Zuko! Katara! _Finally! _I've been looking for you guys _everywhe– _hey, why are you holding fish?" Ed suddenly asked, pointing to Zuko.

The scarred boy grumbled something incoherent under his breath that Ed didn't hear. Katara spoke up, "Wait, why are _you_ looking for _us_?"

"Not all of you, just Zuko," Ed explained, standing up and dusting himself off. "Jeez, do you people even know how to stay in one place? I was running around this whole _planet _just to find you!"

"Why do you need me?" Zuko asked, confused.

"Oh, not me. Them," Ed answered, pointing behind him, which he then noticed was just empty space. "Aw crap, where'd they go? Did they really just ditch me and not notice me fall?" Ed scowled violently, "The _one _time I need them and they're not here. Great."

Katara's brow furrowed in confusion, and she opened her mouth to ask him just what in the world he was talking about and _who _he was talking about but he intervened saying, "Oh, and just a side note, I don't recommend you guys going back to that upside down temple of yours."

"Why? What happened?" Katara asked.

"Ah," Ed paused, trying to form the words. "Well, long story short, it sort of got busted up – and for the record, it wasn't my fault! I swear!"

Katara frowned, "Busted up? How –"

The sound of those stomping hooves sounded again, and in an instant, those two large animals appeared again, right behind Ed. Katara tensed considerably when she recognized the riders – Ty Lee and Mai! If they were here, then Azula shouldn't be that far behind.

"Ed, get away from them!" Katara cried, puling water from the puddles around her, ready to strike if they attacked – which she wouldn't give them the chance to.

Puzzled, Ed looked from Katara to the girls behind him and panic made its way to his face. "N-No! Katara, wait! It's okay! I can explain!" Shit, why did this _always _have to happen when he met new people or brought two people together? Does everyone in this world just automatically hate one another?

"What's going on, Eddie?" Ty Lee chirped, jumping down from her animal.

A snort escaped Zuko's mouth, "Eddie?"

"Shut up!"

Mai slid off her animal with ease, landing firmly on her feet with her arms crossed and eyes narrowed. "Zuko." She said with enough venom to kill a man.

"Mai?" Zuko asked, surprised. What were they doing here – and where was Azula? But most importantly: they know Ed?

"Yes, okay, good, let's clear this up right now before everyone kills each other," Ed said quickly, knowing all too well how situations like these usually end up. He pointed to Mai and said, "She's looking for you 'cause she wants to talk to you about something I don't really care about. Also, you should talk to _her _and tell her that kidnapping is a _felony _and a _crime _because apparently, it's not getting through to her."

"Shut it, blondie." Mai grunted.

"Why are you here?" Zuko asked, his tone accusing and almost defensive.

"No '_hello'_?" Mai asked with false astonishment. "No '_how are you'?_ No '_how have you been all this time since I left you with a pathetic excuse for a break-up letter'_?" She sent him a blank stare, "How mean."

Zuko groaned miserably and hung his head. _Oh. _She wanted to talk about _that. _ He knew this whole dilemma would come back to bite him eventually, but he wasn't prepared to argue with her now.

"Yeah, you better groan."

"I did it to protect you," Zuko reasoned. He didn't know _why _he had to explain this again; it was all subtly hinted in the letter!

"The only person who needs protection is _you _if you don't give me a better reason than that."

Ed clapped his hands loudly, catching their attentions."Well, I see we're all getting along smoothly," He turned to Mai and Ty Lee, "It's been nice meeting you guys, but I think I'll be heading out now. Bye."

"Wait, Ed!" Katara calleld out quickly. She slapped her forehead in admonishment, scoffing to herself. "I can't believe I almost forgot to tell you – we found your friend!"

Ed frowned. "Friend? What friend?" He didn't have any _friends _in this world. He had people that he _met _here but he didn't really categorize them as friends, per se.

Katara shook her head, grinning wildly, "The person you came here with; Roy Mustang!"

"_Mustang__?" _Ed echoed loudly, eyes wide. "You found him? He's _here?"_

"Yes!" Katara nodded vigorously.

Ed was aware that he was gaping but he didn't care. If Mustang was here ... if Mustang was _here - _he couldn't believe it. He had to see for himself. If Mustang was here, then all his theories were correct. About the toll, about the circle - about everything. "Where is he?" Ed asked sternly. "This better not be some sort of sick prank of yours!"

"It's not! We found him walking with a group of people we know. He said his name was Roy Mustang and when we mentioned your name, he started asking questions and said he was looking for you." Katara quickly clarified, diminishing his skepticism.

"Show me where he is." Ed said tightly. If the Colonel was _here, _then he was alive - he _wasn't _the toll. There was a small feeling of comfort forming in the base of his gut just knowing that Mustang was here - not because of the knowledge that he hadn't been taken as the toll, but because Ed wouldn't be _alone. _

"This way," she nodded, running to the direction of the mine where she left her group, Ed quickly followed her. Zuko stayed where he stood, looking from where Katara and Ed ran to to where and Mai stood with her arms crossed flatly around her chest. Finally, and stiffly, he said, "I have to go." and ran after them.

Mai blew air and scowled harshly. "Typical," she muttered.

Ty Lee frowned, looking at her friend to where the others ran to. "Should we follow them?" She asked.

"Obviously," She said punctually. "I didn't come all this way just to be ignored. Plus I didn't hit him yet, so I can't leave unsatisfied."

* * *

Ed's heart was beating rapidly as he ran, the beatings in sync with his heavy footsteps as he passed the trees and the place where he and Azula fought earlier. It almost embarrassed him that he was _this _excited just for Mustang, but he _was. _Because Mustang was _alive; _he _wasn't _the toll and Ed was no longer alone in this strange, foreign _world. _Not a foreign _land_, like Ed was trying to convince himself all this time. Because he was in a different _world, _and that fact all alone was hard to swallow - and still is.

He could hear Zuko, Katara, Ty Lee and Mai following him from behind, but his focus was in front of him – that cave, that's where Mustang was supposed to be, according to Katara. He skidded to a halt at the mouth of the cave when his eyes captured the sight of that all too familiar blue uniform.

"Colonel" Ed gasped. It was him It was _him._ He watched as the man's head perked at the title and he stood up quickly, his face reflecting the same bewilderment as Ed's.

"Fullmetal," Mustang said, his tone almost asking, as if he wasn't sure he was seeing correctly. He walked over to Ed, who was panting from running. It was most definitely Edward, and Roy's stomach crunched, because at that moment, he realized the severity of his situation as of now.

"So you _were _sent here, too," Mustang finally said after a long lapse of silence where his thoughts consumed his mind and muted his voice. "I've been looking for you since I arrived; I was beginning to doubt if you even _did _come. Are you okay; are you hurt?"

The shock had disappeared from Mustang's face, but it remained on Edward's, "You're here." He stated shakily, like he still didn't believe it. "You're actually _here - _in this _world."_

Mustang caught on to the emphasis to the words and could understand the boy's shock. "So you've noticed, too?" Mustang said with a nod. "Yes, it seems that circle was even more obscure than we initially thought..." He trailed off. Ed seemed to have regained his composure rather quickly, however Mustang couldn't understand what he was doing now.

"What are you doing?" He asked bluntly, with a brow quirked. Ed had suddenly tore his eyes off of his superior officer and sent them to the ground, scanning the floor with immense concentration.

"Something to throw..." Ed muttered to himself quietly while he looked around him. Finally, he found a nice sized rock and picked it up. He looked at Mustang with a blank face for a moment, then he frowned and threw the rock at him, efficaciously hitting him on his temple.

"Ow!" Mustang yelped. "What the hell was that for?"

"_That, _you son of a bitch," Ed started to say, slowly and ferociously, until his voice grew to a full blown shout that made everybody wince from the volume. "Was for getting us into this mess in the first place!"

Mustang's groan was so strained that it hurt his throat. He massaged his head, ready for the onslaught of migraines that accompanied him whenever he argued with Ed. "I swear to _God_, Fullmetal, if you even _begin _to say that this was my fault..."

"No shit it was your fault!" Ed screeched wildly, the awe and confusion he had moments ago gone, completely disappearing without a trace. Once the shock of seeing Mustang wore off, he suddenly remembered he was seeing _Mustang, _and he instinctively got pissed_. "_That was my day off! I could have been in the library with Al by now if it wasn't for your lazy ass making me do all your work for you! You ruined everything!"

Mustang scowled harshly, rolling his eyes. "First of all, I don't remember _ever_ granting you a day off. Secondly, I doubt you would _still _be in the library by now since that happened about four days ago. And lastly, who was the idiot that ran straight towards an activated transmuted circle in the first place?"

"Don't even _try _to pin the blame on me!" Ed demanded, stomping his metal foot childishly.

"It was _your_ recklessness that brought us here."

"It was _your _lazy ass that forced me to come!"

"A simple _no _would have sufficed, Fullmetal." Mustang said nonchalantly.

"You threatened to send me to Drachma if I didn't!" Ed screamed, on the verge of tearing his hair from his skull. Why – oh _why –_ did he want to find Mustang. What the hell was going through his mind when he thought that being with Mustang would be a good idea? How he wished Azula could have just sliced his head off.

Mustang frowned patronizingly and shook his head with a sad sigh. "Edward, you are making a very inappropriate first impression," He said, gesturing to their gaping company. The children were gaping at the sight of Edward shouting at Mustang like it was part of his daily routine and for the fact that Mustang easily countered everything Ed said as if he was prepared and _experienced._

Suki, Hakoda and Iroh simply gaped because _that kid is loud!_

Ed scoffed at Mustang's comment with a dry, sarcastic laugh. "I think I've had enough _terrible _first impressions as it is..." He said pointedly, glaring at all the kids.

"That was your own fault." Toph said immediately.

"We said we were sorry!" Katara cried with a pout.

"I'm not." Mai grunted.

"I thought I was pretty nice..." Zuko said with a thoughtful frown.

"Well, you might not care for first impressions, but I do." Mustang said like the gentlemen he was. He waved a hand to his earlier entourage. "Hakoda, Suki, Iroh, _this _is Edward."

Suki cocked her head with a frown and hummed. "He's much shorter than I expected..."

"_Who are you calling so small that they don't even fit in a thought!?"_

Immediately, Suki burst into a fit of laughter."Wow, you're right! He _does _go crazy when you call him short!"

"I'm not short!" Edward fumed. He pointed to Mustang, "Oh yeah, well, Mustang hugs his pillow when he's sleeping!"

Suki's laughter was even louder as she held her side and everybody couldn't help but also laugh at that image. Mustang rolled his eyes. "How mature."

Katara pursed her lips to try and stop her giggling – just the image of a grown man curling up with a pillow was just hilarious on its own. She sighed and shook her head with a smile. Looking at the pair, she asked, "So now that you guys found each other, what are you going to do next."

Mustang opened his mouth to answer but was abruptly cut off by Edward, who swiftly answered "We're going to leave. Now." He turned to leave.

The Colonel grabbed the collar of his coat, stopping him from taking another step forward. "Actually, no. I had something else in mind."

"What do you mean _no?" _Edward sputtered. "I need to get back!"

"It won't hurt you wait a little."

"Yes, it will!" Ed shouted, pulling off Mustang's grip on him with much more force than he intended but he _didn't care._

"Fullmetal..." Mustang warned.

"Colonel, Al is waiting for me!" Ed yelled, his voice close to desperation as he ranted. "I can't just _leave _him there alone any longer just because you want to stay and go _sightseeing_! I need to get back _immediately."_

"Would you excuse us for a moment." Mustang said with a forced smile to his audience as he grabbed Ed by the arm tightly and pulled him out of the cave, while everybody else just watched in confusion. They all, however, failed to notice Aang's deeply unsettled frown that was plastered on his face.

Mustang pulled Edward out of the abandoned mine and let him go when they were out of the others' hearing rage. He stared down at his subordinate with a critical gaze. Ed was huffing and had a hand on his temple and refused to meet the Colonel's gaze. Mustang frowned at the behavior. He knew something was off with Ed the moment he entered the cave. The vibe he got from him was deeply discomforting. Now, while they were outside of that cave, the vibe was gone, and Mustang had no trouble recognizing the atmosphere that surrounded Ed.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine."Ed snapped quickly, then paused and mumbled to the floor, "just a headache."

Mustang rolled his eyes at how fluently Ed was able to lie. "Is it because of that sensation you get from the other boy."

A pause. Then a sigh. Ed looked up,"They told you?"

The Colonel nodded, "Yes, and I am just as confused as you are."

Ed's head snapped at that comment, whatever was plaguing his mind before quickly dispersing. "Wait – you _don't_ feel it?" Mustang shook his head firmly and Ed's brows creased in heavy confusion. "But … I thought it was because we were both were from..." He trailed off, biting his lip with a grimace. "Then why is it only _me?"_

"I don't know," Mustang answered honestly. Thoughtfully, he added, "This is the first time I've heard of something like this."

"There has to be a reason, though!" Ed exclaimed. Things like this just don't spontaneously happen, and Edward was positively sure that it had _never _happened before. The conflicting thoughts plagued his brain until he dispersed them all with a shake of his head. He didn't want to think about this now.

"Screw it," he huffed grudgingly. "There are more important things to worry about – like why the hell _aren't we getting out of here yet."_

Mustang sighed at Edward's glare. Hopefully, this time, Ed would be rational and actually hear him out as he explained himself. Hopefully. "I assume they told you about the Phoenixdragon blood?" He began.

Ed nodded. "Do you think it'll work?"

"It's the only chance we have, so I'm willing to risk it."

Ed nodded again, his thoughts exactly. "But I don't remember the circle – only bits of it. The transmutation won't properly work if the circle is incomplete."

"I've got that covered." Mustang stated defiantly, not indulging in it any further. He continued, "Now, I'm also assuming they informed you of the war, yes?"

"Yeah, so?" Ed paused, then, "Oh, _hell _n-"

"We are going to wait until the comet arrives."

"That's days away!" Ed cried.

"So we will wait."

Exasperated – annoyed – frustrated. "I can't _afford_ to wait. I told you, Al – "

"Alphonse can take care of himself. Give your brother some credit." Mustang said swiftly.

Ed shook his head frantically, "That's not what I'm worried about!" Partially, it was, but it wasn't his _main_ concern. "You told me that mission would be quick, and that's what I told him. He has _no _idea what happened to me!"

"Relax," Mustang advised. "The Lieutenant was with us, remember? She saw what happened and most likely told him what happened as well."

"How can you be so sure?"

"She's my Lieutenant." The man said confidently, as if that answer was enough to satisfy any question. "She will take care of everything on that side. For now, we must only concern ourselves with what's happening _here."_

Reluctantly, Ed nodded.

Good, Ed was listening to him. That relieved the Colonel. Sometimes – _all the times _– Ed could be a such a handful. "Thankfully, the kids here are very kind, and had asked us to tag along with them." He sighed theatrically with a quixotic smile and said, "Such sweet children; I wish we had that in our world."

Ed scowled viciously.

Bluntly, Edward asked, "so, when the comet comes and everyone is fighting and killing each other, we're going to use that as a distraction to steal the blood?"

"Would you rather be fighting in the war?" Mustang countered.

"That's not what I'm saying!" The boy hissed. "It's just – doesn't that feel like we're playing dirty?"

Mustang sighed. "I understand what you mean, but we can't concern ourselves with this world's affairs, just as _they _shouldn't concern themselves with ours. However, they were very adamant about helping us, so I allowed it, since it won't be a hindrance to either one of us."

"See, this is why I didn't want them to help me in the beginning!" Ed explained. "They have their own problems to deal with – they shouldn't be bothering themselves with _ours."_

"They wanted to."

"Now it's going to be like we _owe _them." Ed grumbled.

"Not everyone thinks like that, Fullmetal." Mustang sighed, knowing all too well how Ed's philosophy of Equivalent Exchange usually determined his

decisions and actions. "You know, it's almost rare to find people as kind and willing as these people. I don't understand why you won't accept it."

"Because it's not _fair._" Edward stressed. "They help us and what do we do for them? _Nothing._ That's not equivalent."

The sound of feet hitting the muddy ground halted their conversation abruptly. They turned their heads simultaneously to the source of the noise – and sighed when it was just their group. _Did they hear what we were saying _was a chanting thought that floated in Ed's mind.

"Sorry interrupt," Hakoda said sheepishly. The two looked like they were talking about something very important and he felt guilty for disturbing such a heated talk.

Mustang blinked. His eyes caught the sight of Katara, who's eyes were wet with held back tears and her cheeks were flushed to the point where it reached her ears – "You're leaving?"

With a sad smile, Hakoda smiled. "Yes. Some of my men were imprisoned and I plan to free them and devise a new battle strategy for when Sozin's comet comes."

"And I need to get the Kyoshi warriors out, too." Suki explained, stepping up. Her eyes discreetly glanced over to Sokka, but Mustang noticed it."We're going to face the Fire Nation head on with our own army, and this time, we'll _win."_

Mustang nodded. Although sad that the friends he had made and helped him out the past few days were leaving, he understood that they had their own tasks to settle. Clearing his throat quietly, Mustang stood up straighter, and in his most genuine voice and smile, said, "Well then, I wish the two of you the best of luck. Hakoda, Suki – it was a pleasure meeting you both, and thank you for everything."

"Likewise." Suki said with a bittersweet smile. "I hope you two both get home safely." She added sincerely.

"Thank you." Edward murmured. They turned to leave wordlessly, which Ed concluded that they had already had said their goodbyes in the cave while he was talking with Mustang. Katara and Sokka looked the most saddened by the departure. The old man – ah crap, what was his name again? – held a sad smile and Zuko seemed pretty sad, too. Wait – why was Zuko...?

Ed's eyes darted to Mai and Ty Lee."You guys are leaving, too?" He asked. The two girls held the reigns of their lizardhorses and looked ready to hop on and ride away.

"I finished what I needed to do." Mai answered monotonously, a tiny, _microscopical _smile escaping her lips when she glanced at Zuko for a brief moment. Ed shuddered and gagged. He didn't want to know what happened between the two of them in the cave and he didn't _ever _want to see her smile like that ever again. It was so disturbing just thinking about it –

"_Eddie_!" Ty Lee exploded, throwing her arms around his neck, not able to take it any longer and knocking the wind out of Edward's lungs. "I'm going to miss you _so much!" _She cried. "I can't believe we're separating like this! Life is so not fair! Don't ever forget me, okay? I won't ever forget you! Oh, Eddie! You're the best friend ever _ever!_"

"O-Oxy..gen!" Ed gasped, clawing her arms from his neck. She pulled away from him and grinned.

"How cute." Mustang murmured.

"Shut up!"

After Ty Lee's chants of "Bye bye!" the girls had left. As he watched their backs slowly shrink as they trotted away, Edward wondered if he would miss them, and eventually came up with the answer of _hell no. _Hopefully now, he would have some peace and quiet, which he doubted.

Now he was stuck with even _more _people, and his tolerance for people was not that high. Not only that, but now he was stuck with _Mustang, _and his tolerance for that man was nonexistent.

"Well, I guess you guys are staying with us." Katara said, breaking the lapse of silence after the departure of half the group. Her voice cracked a little, and Mustang could tell easily that she was hiding the grief of finally seeing her father after so long, only to watch him leave again moments later.

Mustang smiled at her as kindly as he could, almost as a reassurance to show her that everything would be alright. "And I can't thank you enough for your

generosity; you all truly helped us." He held that smile and waited. It became silent as Mustang waited, so, impatiently, he elbowed Edward.

Ed jumped. "Ow – uh, yeah, thanks a lot." Mustang sighed at Ed's ignorance. Was there ever a time where this kid was _voluntarily _polite?

Toph blinked and lifted her chin, sniffing. "Fish is ready." She announced.

"Finally! Food!" Sokka cheered.

"You know what goes great with a dinner like this?" Iroh began. Then with a shrewd grin that was directed at Mustang, he answered his own question, "A story." Mustang understood what he was implying right away and chuckled.

Katara nodded vigorously in agreement. "Yeah! Yeah! – tell us what happened while you were in prison."

Ed choked on air,"You were in _prison?" _He snorted obnoxiously, "Pft – I can't wait to tell Havoc that!"

Roy grimaced. Well, there goes his reputation in Amestris for being an honorable and respectable hero. Fullmetal always ruins everything with his big mouth.

* * *

_**E N D**_

_**O F**_

_**P A R T**_

_**O N E**_

* * *

**Author's Note 11/14/12:**

I apologize for the wait! I feel terrible for making you all wait, so I'm very very sorry! I was sort of without wifi and electricity for a couple of days and staying at a neighbor's place because of hurricane Sandy , so I didn't have time to go on my laptop... but now I'm back in my house and I wrote this super quick for all of you (also as a huge THANK YOU for whoever promoted this fic on that fanfic tumblr blog!) So if you all accept my apology, you'll get a nice _long _chapter next update! Yay!

Also, this is it for chapters that mostly consist of dialogue. I know most of you are annoyed with all the talking, but I had to write them to settle everything, but now dialogue chapters are over! Action starts!. Also, it would mean _so much_ if you reviewed this one, since it took me _so _long to finish! Thanks for all your reviews, I seriously love reading them, especially when I'm going through a mini writer's block. See you next chapter!

* * *

_Next Chapter: Escape the Misunderstanding_

_He only wished that Fullmetal was having a worse time than he did. That was the hope that pushed him forward._


	6. Escape the Misunderstanding

**Intersecting Points**

* * *

**Part II – 1**

* * *

_**Escape the Misunderstanding**_

* * *

**/ "**_You__ need to experience to create greatness__**." /**_

It was all Fullmetal's fault. That brat.

It was supposed to be a simple mission – one that would have been done within at least an hour so he would be able to get back to the office to attend a mandatory meeting that required his presence. However, that would not be the case, since – _as unsurprising as it was_ – Fullmetal had obviously, in some strange way, botched it up.

It wasn't entirely Fullmetal's fault, Mustang had to admit, since no one could have anticipated Artfield's bold move of activating the strange transmutation circle. It was completely unexpected and hazardous, which was why Mustang's wasn't that amazed that Edward would run directly into towards it. It was common knowledge how rash that boy was. He held a strong reputation for his recklessness, and Mustang was sure Ed held that title with pride. But his actions were beyond brash this time; because Ed was a prodigy in alchemy, and it was universal knowledge amongst all those who knew what the word alchemy meant that interfering with an activated circle would result in nothing but disaster.

He should have known better. Be he didn't. So of course, the Colonel had to take responsibility for his subordinate's insubordination.

Mustang had lunged himself at Ed, prepared to grab him by the back of the collar, shake him furiously while yelling, _'Are you out of your mind!?'_, arrest Artfield and be on his way back to his office. That's how missions usually played out when he brought Fullmetal along with him.

It happened so quickly – Mustang wasn't even aware that he had stepped onto the circle as well, and that just how Ed's body was grotesquely picked apart by small, daunting black hands, his was too. He wasn't even conscious of the situation until he heard a horrifying, shrill scream from his Lieutenant.

_"COLONEL – !"_

And then his vision was blinded by a sea of white and he was so sure that his brain was melting because he wasn't even able to process one coherent though.

He thought it was death – he was positive this was the afterlife.

But it was too bright. Too white.

He was an alchemist and heatedly did not believe in anything religious.

But he did have his moments where he was skeptic of his skepticism.

Mustang knew that 'white' and 'bright' fit the characteristics of Heaven.

Which is why he immediately knew that this wasn't the afterlife - he wasn't dead.

Because a person like him, who massacred hundreds of people with his blood-soaked flames would not be granted into Heaven.

He remembered hearing soft murmuring.

It was disoriented and befuddled and far away.

He couldn't make out a single word.

He thought it was Edward and his mind had cleared at that thought – immediately the concern set his mind on track.

He couldn't remember if he had called out his name.

He couldn't hear anything.

But after a moment, he heard an unfamiliar voice.

_"Oh? Oh? I've been given a second lamb to eat up. What to do with you?"_

That voice was so unsettling, it sank a boulder in his stomach.

The voice couldn't even be identified as human.

The tone was just merciless and Mustang wanted to do nothing more than leave.

Leave, leave leave. Just get out of here and leave.

_Get me out of here!_

_"You fool. You're in my domain. Alchemists have no say here – your voice can never be acknowledged. I am the authority here, I am absolute here, I am God here."_

The ripples from the echoes of its voice nauseated him, causing his mind to swirl.

He couldn't concentrate anymore and he knew he lost the struggle to keep his consciousness aware.

Laughter – cackling, hideous, inhumane laughter – swallowed up his hearing.

Where was he – what the hell is _this?_

"_You're so amusing, I'm itching to pick you apart. But the fee was payed, and you were spared – what luck you have. Let's see if you're lucky enough to make it back, Mr. Al-che-mist."_

Then he blinked, and the white was gone, replaced by a colossal of blue, and his body crashed to the ground, taking his breath. The strange, blank place he was in only a few moments ago was no more, only a fleeting memory that Mustang had trouble distinguishing it from a dream.

Now he just lay on his back, staring at the sky, wondering just _what the hell happened. _His back ached with pain, and he hoped he didn't permanently damage it in any way. The back of his head throbbed along with his heartbeat.

He groaned softly as he tried to get up, his head disoriented from the run of the events with addition to the pain of his fall. Mustang paused during this process.

Wait.

Why was he outside when he was inside Artfield's apartment only a few minutes ago? How was that possible?

He quickly turned his around, "Lieutenant?"

No response.

Nobody was around him but rubble and stone. He tried again, "Lieutenant? Hawkeye?" Nobody responded and Mustang's brow creased. The Lieutenant was always supposed to be by his side. She was with him in that dim room in Artfield's apartment – he was _sure of it._

He cradled his head in his hands, trying to stop it from spinning. _What the hell was happening?_

"Hey! There's another one!"

Mustang looked to where the voices were coming. Two men dressed in red with strange helmets ran to him, their fists extended. Roy wanted to say something to them, but he knew that if he opened his mouth, the only thing that would come out would be vomit.

"Scum," Mustang heard one of them sneer. One of them kicked him on the side with their solid boot, making stars explode in his eyes. Whatever they were saying after that was blocked out by the screeching white pain.

"Pathetic – can't even –"

"– Up – I said _get up._"

Strong hands gripped his arms and hauled him from the ground and onto his unbalanced legs. Instinct told him not be taken that easily, and he struggled under their grips, but to no avail. They laughed at his struggle, he could hear, but it was a mutated kind of laugh. He was sure his mind was playing tricks on him. He wondered briefly if maybe he landed on his head and was suffering from a mild concussion.

Wait.

_Landed?_

Why was he _falling _in the first place.

"Look at him, struggling," One of the men laughed. "If you're so afraid of being taken in, you shouldn't have fought with the Fire Nation in the first place!"

The other one laughed along with him, and Mustang could feel the man shake with every annoying, wheezing laugh. "This is what happens when you underestimate us!"

"As if you lot could take us out with a measly eclipse. _Please."_

"You Water Tribe peasants sure bit off more than you could chew! Ha!"

Each syllable that bounced out of their fat mouths strung an ache in Roy's head. He didn't know what the hell they were talking about – he just wanted them to shut up. He swallowed and tried to talk. "Not...water."

"What'dya say?"

Mustang growled at the patronizing tone. Didn't these bastards know who they were talking to? "_Flame _Alchemist … not _water."_

"What the hell is he blabbering about?" One asked the other, as if the other one would know the answer.

"Colonel .. _Mustang," _Roy tried to clarify, but the words jumbled in his mouth, coming out in a mess. He hoped he said enough and these two brutes would understand what he was trying to say. If they knew who they were manhandling so roughly and disrespectfully, surely they would listen to what he had to say.

"You heard that?"

"Mhm, yeah."

Mustang smirked. Excellent. Now they could take him to the hospital so he could stop feeling so shitty and find out exactly what happened.

"A Colonel, huh? I didn't know you guys gave ranks for that pitiful excuse of an army of yours."

"Still, that's a pretty high rank," the other murmured.

"You know what that means?" The other said, and Mustang could just hear the smirk in his voice.

"First class tickets to the Boiling Rock, coming right up!"

* * *

Mustang had blacked out, which was very fortunate for him. If he got some rest, maybe then his mind would work more effectively and he would be able to think clearly. When he awoke, black spots roamed his vision for only a moment. They vanished and he saw gray.

He was sitting on something cold and his head was leaning against something cold. He sucked in a breath and sat up straight, looking around. It was like a large, steel room with a few windows, something he'd never seen before. He wasn't alone, too. People sat across from him, hands cuffed and faces sunken. Mustang blinked and looked at his lap where his hands rested – hand-cuffed.

Oh.

That would explain those two stiff looking men that stood beside the only door in the room – cart? It felt like it was moving. They wore the same helmets as the people who took him in, as well as the same shady, red garments. They must be guards and he must be … a prisoner?

But that's impossible. Roy Mustang had never committed a crime in his life. Whatever he was being imprisoned for, he was innocent.

He perked his head to look out the window and his eyes widened. He was _up – _in the _air. _He turned from the window and blinked rapidly. He looked out the window again and – yup, he wasn't hallucinating. He was really up in the air – _moving._

_Calm down, _he chided himself. _Think – focus. First thing's first: Find out where you are._

Mustang, once again, looked out the window to view his surroundings and tried to block his new emerging fear of heights. It looked like he was on top of a lake – or ocean? It was hard to tell with the windows being covered in thick fog that moistened the glass.

But it did rule out one scenario – he was obviously not taken prisoner in Drachma like he initially thought. Drachma was a horrid wasteland of snow and frost, and this was anything but.

He tried the easier way of finding an answer. "Excuse me," he asked, nudging the man next to him with his elbow. The large, bald man stared down at him with bear eyes and Roy began reconsidering his approach. "Ah … where are we going?"

A grunt. "Boiling Rock, obviously."

"And where exactly _is _that?"

A more annoyed grunt, and this time the man looked away. "Fire Nation."

"And where is _that?"_

"Where do you _think?" _The man hissed. "Quit bothering me."

Roy blinked and frowned. His question wasn't entirely answered – he still didn't have an idea on where he was. Fire Nation didn't ring a bell in his mind, and it definitely wasn't a city or town in Amestris. Perhaps he was in a different country … but how did he manage _that?_

He hung is head in exasperation. The confusion of not knowing what was going on hurt his head more than the headache. He inhaled deeply and tried to retrace his footsteps. That should help him sort everything out. The last reliable thing he remembered was cornering Artfield in his apartment. That took place in Amestris, obviously. Then Artfield began spitting insanity and activated a large transmutation circle, which Fullmetal ran into and Mustang afterward.

So the only logical explanation was that the transmutation circle was the cause of all this. It made sense, in a way that Mustang was still trying to figure out. Fullmetal did say it had elements of human transmutation, and Artfield was sputtering nonsense about leaving, if his memory served him correctly.

So then it most definitely was the transmutation circle's fault.

Mustang decided to go with that explanation.

But then it brought up another question – where the hell was Fullmetal? Roy couldn't help but groan out loud and bang the back of his head against the steel wall he was leaning on. Edward was swallowed up by the circle just like he was, _so why wasn't he here?_

"You okay, buddy?" The man across from him asked with an amused smile. "You look lost there."

"Having trouble remembering things, is all." Mustang muttered bitterly. What a wonderful understatement that was.

"I thought as much." Mustang shot him a dirty look and the man laughed, clarifying. "You've been sleeping the whole ride, I figured you must have hit your head or something."

"You could say that."

A pause. "So you don't remember anything, huh? That sucks."

Mustang could tell that this man was trying to start up a conversation, and the Colonel decided to entertain him, but only for his benefit. This premise could come into use. "I wouldn't say _anything – _just that I don't really remember how I ended up here … wherever _here _is."

"I feel bad for you, then. To wake up, out of all places, here. I heard the Boiling Rock is one hell of a prison"

"Prison?" Mustang asked, sounding perplexed.

The man lifted his chained hands with a grin that rarely sported a hand-cuffed man's face. "We're prisoners – off to prison._"_

"Prison? But I didn't do anything..."

"You sure about that? Maybe you don't remember since you hit your head and all, but the Boiling Rock is Fire Nation's highest security prison meant for only the most dangerous criminals. You have to be _really _bad to get in." He made it sound like it was a prestigious, ivy league college and Mustang suddenly grew doubtful of this man.

"What'd _you_ do?" He tried to make the question casual, but it came out much blunter than he intended. The man didn't seem to mind.

"Can't you tell? I'm from the Water Tribe." His grin shone with pride when he gestured to his blue garments but it slid off his face at Mustang's unimpressed, blank face. "I was the leader of the invasion force during the eclipse." The Colonel simply raised a brow as a response. "Wow, you really don't remember, huh?"

The moving room came to an abrupt stop. "On your feet!" One of the soldiers commanded loudly and all the prisoners stood up as they were let out.

"Hey, listen, try to find me if they let us out for food or something. My name's Hakoda." The man whispered as they walked.

Mustang nodded and replied in a lower whisper. "Roy Mustang,"

"What did you say? Rusting?"

Roy scowled. "_Mustang."_

"Muscling?"

"Quiet over there!" The guard shouted, obviously talking to them.

"Just call me Roy!" Mustang hissed sharply.

"Got it, Roy." Hakoda grinned.

"Walk." The guard said gruffly, shoving Mustang to the other side, away from Hakoda. His scowl never left his face, even when the warden was talking. "..._Muscling." _He muttered bitterly.

* * *

His cell was that of any ordinary cell – dank, small, and foul. It was warmer than he expected, which was obvious since this prison was located in a volcano of boiling hot water that could melt the skin at the splash. He learned about his new home when he was introduced to the warden of the facility – automatic detest of the warden ensued when the man began talking. There was something about that slimy person that Mustang just couldn't stand.

What he absolutely could not stand was the fact that he was forced to give up everything he had on him the moment he stepped out of the gondola. They had him stripped of his military attire and replaced it with red rags for clothes – it was humiliating. However, what further infuriated Mustang was the fact that in his uniform's pockets were his gloves. As much as he hated to admit it, he was useless without his gloves.

It was at that moment – when his feet were touching the moist floor of his cell, when the commotion of the rowdy prisoners was loud in his ears, when the door to his cell creaked to an obnoxious close – that he made the decision to escape. Roy Mustang did not belong behind bars.

He sat on his stiff excuse for a bed, propped his elbows atop his knees and folded his fingers underneath his chin, devising his plan. It would be a lengthy plan that would take sometime, but he knew he could formulate it successfully. It was actually performing it that would prove itself pestering.

There would be three parts to this plan, Mustang decided. Gather information, retrieve his belongings and escape, which must all be played out in that order and must be absolutely conspicuous. He then decided that the longest amount of time he would spend in this place would be three days. Anything longer would be unacceptable.

With that settled, Mustang stood up, stretched, walked to the bars of his cells and clenched them, examining his surroundings with calculating, sharp eyes. The plan starts now.

* * *

**Step One: Gather Information**

* * *

All the guards, Mustang observed, were all dressed the same, so it was difficult to distinguish rank between them. Some wore a metal mask over their eyes while others just wore the helmet with their faces bare. Mustang found that increasingly unusual.

While at the military academy, he was instructed to read on other countries' military, including their uniforms. Drachman's work black, sometimes accompanied by a black fur hat. Soldier's of Creta wore bulky green uniforms while Aerugo have their soldiers' dressed in bright red, but nothing like these people.

There were four guard standing stiffly for every hall of cells. The one standing across from his cell was a young woman. Mustang smirked, raised his eyes, straightened his shoulders and pushed his hair back. Havoc always said that that was the look that always robbed him of his girlfriends.

He called the lady over and polity and as sweetly as possible, asking for a cup of water. The woman shifted her eyes and told him to wait until lunch break. He pouted and said something along the lines of _but this heat between us is making me ever so parch._

She laughed at his face and asked him if he really thought that would work on her. He replied with _no but it was worth hearing your angelic laugh._

Then she blushed and Mustang knew he won.

He talked with her for a few more minutes, her telling him about her life as a guard and he just listened. After a few more minutes, he asked her to fetch him a map if she had one. She made some comment about how he shouldn't need a map since he would never see the outside world. He replied back with a sappy comment like _that's fine as long as I can spend my time here seeing you. _

Her blush painted her face and she left and got him a map.

Mustang looked at the map – _Southern Air Temple, Fire Nation Capital, Ba Sing Se – _and was taken back at the unfamiliar countries and at the map itself. He asked the guard if this was the _whole _map and she replied smartly with _of course it is._

He stared at the map. Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes passed as his eyes glued on the foreign illustrations on the wide paper.

He asked her to show him where he was; the prison. She pointed at the red – Fire Nation. Then she moved her finger to the tiny red islands. "Right here," she said. "In the middle of the ocean."

"I suppose this is the part where you emphasize how inescapable this prison is?"

"Exactly."

A bell sounded and his cell was opened. It was time for lunch. He followed the crowd of prisoners down the stairs and through the halls until they reached the large cafeteria. It was similar to the mess hall at Eastern Command except the atmosphere was much darker.

As he waited on line for his food_, _his thoughts ran wild. The bizarre image of the map clouded his mind. Even though the guard repeatedly told him that _yes this is the actual map – are you seriously asking me that, _he still couldn't grasp it.

It was like –

– like a completely different world.

But was that … even_ possible?_

He sat down at the nearest table with his tray and stared at the food without touching. He folded his fingers on top of each other. His brow furrowed.

He pieced together the bits of facts he had.

A transmutation circle brought him here, he was one hundred percent sure of that.

It transported him – moved him from the apartment, from East City to here, yes, that's true, too.

But where? _Where did it send him? _That was the question that wouldn't leave him.

However, he _did _have an answer, but it was far too outrageous to be plausible.

Mustang picked at his food with a frown. Could it really be that he was in –

"Roy!" A strong arm wrapped itself around his shoulder, and Mustang spun around quickly, thinking to was Hughes – _he always did that to him. _However, it wasn't Maes, rather, it the prisoner he met on the gondola earlier.

"Hakoda," Mustang murmured when the man sat beside him with his tray in hand. "I see you've spared my first name from any humiliating mispronunciations."

"How long are you going to keep holding that against me?"

"Long."

Hakoda snorted and shoved the bread in his tray to his mouth nonchalantly, his obvious hunger showing. "So, you remember anything yet?"

Mustang blinked, confused. Then he remembered the amnesia-story he was playing with. "Nothing important," he answered simply.

"Don't worry, it'll come to you."

"Hm." Mustang took a bite of his bread. Stale. He put it down and tried the mashed potatoes. Watery. He sighed. He definitely needed to get out of here.

He watched Hakoda eat without complaint. Hakoda … what an unusual name. "Ever heard of Amestris?" Mustang asked suddenly.

"Huh?"

"Amestris, the country."

"In the Fire Nation?"

"No, just _Amestris_. It's its own nation."

"Can't say I have. I know all the countries and nations in this world so I can assure you that Amestris isn't one of them." He swallowed. "I travel a lot."

Mustang's frown deepened. That didn't confirm anything, he told himself. This guy might be just an idiot, and that guard might have just drawn that map to toy with him.

"What's wrong?" Hakoda asked, noticing Mustang's displeased expression.

He didn't answer. Mustang got up and moved to throw out his food. He wasn't hungry anymore. Frustration replaced it.

He noticed a loud commotion to his right and turned. A small crowd was gathering around a prisoner and a guard. Mustang made his way in to see more of it. The prisoner was shouting at the guard about something Mustang didn't catch. His face was red with anger, Roy noticed, and the man grabbed a tray and flung it at the guard's face.

Mustang snorted. The guard fell back and clenched his fist. Then he waved his arm and a line of fire burst from his hand and struck the prisoner.

Mustang's heart leaped.

He pushed himself through the crowd aggressively and stared at the guard. No gloves. He wasn't wearing any gloves. His worries of perhaps the guard stealing his gloves diminished. However, a new worry grew when he noticed no transmutation circle visible anywhere. Worry grew into horror when he remembered it was _flames – _nobody should be able to use flame alchemy except he and Hawkeye-sensei!

But there was no visible circle – _how in the world was he using alchemy without a circle – without clapping – without any evidence of an actual transmutation taking place!_

"Ooh, this guy's definitely getting the cooler." Mustang turned around to see Hakoda next to him. He must have followed him.

"How is he doing that?" Mustang asked.

"Hm? Doing what?"

"That! The flame alchemy! How is he doing that without a circle?" His voice was urgent and demanding.

Hakoda shifted uneasily at the tone, "Alchemy? What are you saying? That's just firebending."

"Firebending?"

Hakoda chuckled and slapped his hand on his forehead like he just forgot something, "Oh right, your memory is all haywire."

"Tell me what it is," he said.

* * *

Mustang lay on his concrete-like bed and stared at the ceiling. His body was exhausted and his brain was beyond that point.

Organizing all the new information in his head that he gained from Hakoda was sending him splitting headaches.

He just wanted to sleep.

At least he finally understood why he was being held in containment, even if the matter wasn't all that comforting.

Apparently, the soldiers who had taken him in had mistaken him for a Water Tribe soldier due to the color of his clothes. Also, his timing when he arrived here wasn't helpful either, since he came the moment the Eclipse invasion had ended and Fire Nation soldiers were scouting the area for war-prisoners, which they assumed he was.

War – this place he was in was at _war_.

Mustang had hoped that it would be _years _until he would have to experience another war.

When Hakoda was explaining how that one guard was able to shoot fire – it was called bending, not alchemy, and each person can either bend one of the four elements, he learned – he began trailing off and began talking about the war between the Fire Nation and every other nation.

But it wasn't war; it was cruel imperialism, it was genocide, it was _mad_.

A whole race of people have been eliminated by the nation he was a prisoner of, and Hakoda's people are slowly meeting that fate as well. The condition of this world was definitely much worse than his own.

Yes, _world_.

As much as his rationality told him it was illogical and preposterous, he was slowly reeling in on the possibility that he might just be in a whole different world. The facts were fitting in perfectly and the image that the puzzle was forming was that of a new world.

Artfield babbled about "leaving this world" – Mustang was pulled into an unknown circle – the people in this place never heard of alchemy – they had a strange ability that Mustang had never seen before – the map was completely different and foreign and he had never heard of any of the places.

– It all made sense.

Roy closed his eyes. He had two hours left before the bell sounded to let him out again. Some rest should ease his mind, if only for a moment. He readjusted himself on the stiff bed and drifted off. Unconsciousness swept him off his feet and Mustang dreamt of white.

* * *

He woke up with a start, eyes wide and body upright, cold sweat drenching his body and labored breathing taking him over. The bell was ringing with the rhythm of his panting and his heart raced on like a freight train. He put a hand to his face as he controlled himself.

White – that white room.

It plagued his dreams like a pesky mosquito.

How could he forget about that horrifying white room?

_How could he forget about Fullmetal?_

That white room – there was another presence there, a voice. A sicking voice.

_"But the fee was payed, and you were spared – what luck you have. Let's see if you're lucky enough to make it back, Mr. Al-che-mist."_

Fee, _Fee_.

Could it mean something similar to when the Elric brothers lost their bodies? Edward did once mention that he '_payed'_ for Al's soul with his arm. It could be just a figure of speech. However, the boys did each lose something for the end result – even if it wasn't really what they wanted in the end … But what fee was payed for _this_ transmutation?

Mustang had all his limbs last time he checked. All organs intact. Body was still present. So what was taken? What was the fee?

A lump evolved in his stomach when he theorized that perhaps something was taken, rather, from _Edward_.

The voice said something about Mustang being a _"second lamb to eat up"_. So who was the first? Was it Fullmetal – or was it Artfield.

Merciless thoughts led him to hope that the answer was the latter. Edward had enough taken from him. This was just too excess. If it was that – if Artfield was the one taken rather than Ed – then Edward should be here with him. But he wasn't.

When Mustang landed in this world, no other person was around him. Not a single soul was present until those soldiers that took him came. So where was he? Where was Fullmetal?

"Time for dinner," his guard told him tonelessly.

Mustang rose and left his cell without a word. His eyes were conflicting. He was drowning in thought.

He just wanted to sleep.

He made it to the cafeteria easily this time, without needing to follow the other inmates. He'd memorized the way. He looked around him at the other halls to see where it led. It was like an ant colony. They were ants compared to the Fire Nation people, apparently.

Hakoda found him again when he sat down at the table with his tray of odd food. Mustang was silent as Hakoda talked. The man talked about the battles he fought, the places he traveled and the people he'd met – and lost.

An admiration grew the more Hakoda talked. Maybe because he was a fellow soldier and shared the same horrors as Mustang only in a different parallel, or maybe because he was an honest man – either way, Mustang respected him.

He listened to Hakoda as the topic grew personal; how he lost his wife to the Fire Nation and how his children have involved themselves in the war. When he talked about his two kids, his face lit with fatherly pride and pride in general. He talked about how his children were traveling with the Avatar (who Mustang learned was just a child with unique abilities and was almost like an all powerful being) and how they were feverishly fighting to end the war.

Mustang wasn't entirely sure how he felt about the fact that children were the ones involved and fighting in such a brutal war, but complaining would only make him into a hypocrite.

"Do you have kids?"

"No. I've never really had time to settle down."

Hakoda frowned sympathetically."You're missing out. Children are such a joy to have. They're the light of my life."

Mustang snorted. "I've had my share of experiences of with kids, and I have yet to experience joy with this one. I can't even handle one that's not my own, can you imagine what sort of hell I'll be in if I did have one?" He shook his head. "My life is hectic enough."

"I feel bad for you." Hakoda sighed remorsefully. "I don't think I've ever been happier when I'm with my two kids."

"No time," Mustang murmured, taking a sip from his water. "I don't have time for trivial things."

"Trivial?" Hakoda's expression became offended. "What can be so important that raising a family would be seen as trivial compared to it."

"My job is my life and it consumes all of it. I have a goal that must be reached and setbacks can't be afforded." He said lowly. If anything, this situation he was in right now was a _major_ setback.

"Job?"

"Military," Mustang said, but he swallowed his tongue at his slip.

"You're in the military? So you fought with us – wait, you're from the Water Nation? I've never seen you before, though." Hakoda frowned.

"I'm … not from here," He said.

"What do you mean? You're form the Earth Kingdom, then? You can't be from the Air Temple though ... maybe Fire Nation...?" He asked tentatively, cautiously.

"It's a little more complicated than that" Mustang coughed.

Hakoda must have noticed his sudden resignation and grew confused. He pursued further when Mustang broke eye contact. "Wait ... if you know your job then does that mean you regained your memories?"

Mustang turned to look at him and cringed. Finally, he answered, "...yes."

"That's great!" Hakoda beamed. "So now you remembered why you're in prison? Actually ... that's not really great, I guess."

"Listen, Hakoda," Mustang began, setting his cup down softly. "There's some things I need to figure out and I need to be alone in order to do that." He knew it sounded harsh but it had to be said and it was for good intentions. At least, that's what he told himself.

Hakoda looked hurt by that, probably thinking that he did something to offend Mustang, but ultimately stood up and left Roy alone just like he'd asked. Mustang stayed where he sat with his chin resting atop his intertwined hands.

He watched the people pass by like an old man observing ducks by a pond. He watched as the Fire Nation guards mistreated the prisoners and watched the prisoners send furious expressions at the guards. He observed how the fire left the guards' hands and legs when they punched and kicked.

He watched when one brave earthbender attacked a guard and ultimately failed. He watched as Hakoda stood on the other side of the cafeteria, casually glancing at Mustang with concerned eyes.

The guards opened the doors that led to outside and the prisoners were sent out for fresh air. Mustang followed. Suffocating heat splashed his face the moment he stepped out.

The gloomy expressions of the prisoners didn't change, even with this small portion of freedom.

Mustang found Hakoda in the crowd and pulled him aside saying, "I don't belong here."

"Well, we all don't belong here," Hakoda replied. "The Fire Nation is just a bunch of bastards."

"No, you don't understand," Mustang hissed. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He trusted Hakoda, and felt this man could greatly help him. He wanted to tell him of his situation, but feared how Hakoda might react. He didn't want him flipping his lid at such crucial time.

"I'm breaking out." He finally said.

Hakoda cocked his head. "You mean like acne?"

"No, you idiot! _Out of prison_."

"Oh," Hakoda hummed. "Wait – _what!?_

"Roy shook his head in exasperation and explained:

"I can't stay here much longer. I have more important things to do – and I know you do, too."

Hakoda's face grew softer at the understandment and his shoulders sagged. "You _do_ know this prison is inescapable, right?"

"Not after I escape."

"What's your plan?"

"We're leaving tomorrow evening. Find me during breakfast and we'll talk about it."

"Leaving as in ...?"

"Prison."

"Ah." He paused. He scratched his head uncertainty. "Do you really think we can escape?"

"Yes." Mustang scowled. "I don't know why you're hesitating. Would you rather come with me or stay here?"

"Hm. When you put it that way..."

A hand clamped aggressively on Mustang's shoulder and spun him around. Mustang almost tripped on his own feet at the suddenness. He came face to face with a guard and a prisoner who was pointing a steady finger at Mustang.

"That's him – he and the other guy were talking about breaking out!" The man declared.

Roy cursed under his breath with a scowl. Dammit, he was too careless. He should have known that there were hundreds of ears here, and there were bound to be rats as well, especially in a prison.

"Whoa, hang on, take it easy..." Hakoda said, raising his hands up defensively. "This is all just a big misunderstanding."

"No it's not!" The other prisoner shouted. The guard turned to him. "I heard you! You guys were planning to break out! I heard you!"

"And I'm telling you you misheard," Hakoda said, a little more sternly. The guard turned to him now. "It's two against one here." He continued. "Unless you have another person vouching for you, then obviously you misheard."

The prisoner's face was boiling with anger. The guard seemed to take note of Hakoda's words however, and searched around him for someone nearby. "Hey, you," he said, pulling in a girl who was standing close enough to hear the dispute. "Were these two talking about breaking out?"

The girl curled her lip in disgust at the man's rude behavior. She pulled away from him and folded her arms irritably, eying Mustang and Hakoda. She snorted and answered, "Yeah, they were going on and on about that. You could hear them from the Earth Kingdom." She pointed to Mustang, "This guy was talking about how every time he goes to prison he breaks out in horrible acne. It was really gross." Mustang felt a blow at his pride but he kept himself composed.

"What!? No!" The prisoner exclaimed. He started shouting his objections but the guard seemed to have had enough of him. He let go of Mustang and dragged the other prisoner away, sighing an irritable, "waste of my time."

Mustang felt a breathe of relief leave his mouth and turned to the young girl awkwardly. He didn't know whether to thank her – since that would instantly just prove him guilty – or not. Hakoda, however, was not so conspicuous and grinned wildly, "Wow, thanks a bunch! You really saved us!"

The girl pushed back her short hair from her face and smiled, "No problem." She added, "So, tomorrow morning, right?"

Mustang and Hakoda both faltered at the same time. "E-Excuse me?" Mustang stuttered.

"Didn't you say you were going to be talking about escaping tomorrow morning?" She asked nonchalantly.

Hakoda found his voice and asked, "So … you _did _hear us?"

She shot him a look that read, _obviously. _He continued, "Then why didn't you ..."

" – Sell you out?" She shrugged. "Easy. One; what would I gain from that? And two; You," she pointed to Mustang, "sound really confident about breaking out and I," she pointed to herself, "want to get out of here. Get it?"

"You don't even know what the plan is – or us," Roy stated. "How could you trust us so easily?"

"I don't need to trust you. I just need to get out of here. And when the opportunity to escape presents itself right in front of me, I wont let it slip by that easily."

Mustang was impressed. This girl was pretty interesting. Her attitude intrigued him – level-headed people were always valued subordinates and companions. He extended his arm out for the girl.

"Roy Mustang."

She smirked.

"I'm Suki."

* * *

He woke up calmly the next morning. His mind was plagued with ravish nightmares of Ishval but he learned to cope with it. He was up all night thinking that he didn't even remember falling asleep.

He really wished he had slept.

Mustang left his cell and went down for breakfast. He found Suki and Hakoda almost immediately, sitting at a table at the far corner of the huge room. Smart, he gave them that.

It was revealed after Suki introduced herself that Hakoda actually knew the girl – only by name. Apparently his son had once mentioned something about a girl named Suki who he encountered in a far away village who he befriended. She was a warrior of sorts, Mustang picked up, but everything else he couldn't make sense of.

Regardless, Hakoda reassured Roy later that any friend of his son's was someone they could trust, so Mustang decided to follow through on his word.

He sat down across from them with his food, ignoring their eager expressions. He took a bite out of his food and tried not to cringe at the awful taste. He looked up and saw that they were still staring at him. Looking around to make sure that no one was nearby, he pulled out sheets of paper. His lovely guard was kind enough to lend them and a pen to him.

He laid out the paper on the table conspicuously and asked, "How good are your drawing skills?"

The two cocked their heads like confused puppies at the unusual question.

"Depends on what you need me to draw," Suki answered.

He pointed at one of the papers. Suki squinted at it and shrugged, "I think I can manage that."

Roy looked to Hakoda. "My field of expertise is mostly stick figures..." he murmured, scratching his head. "But I guess I could try."

"That's good enough."

He pointed at the other piece of paper, which looked like a rough sketch of the blueprints of the prison. His guard was kind enough to get him one so he could _'point to the place where he wanted to meet with her in private.'_

"Do you know where your cells are by looking at this?" He asked them.

Suki pointed to the halls on the left.

Hakoda pointed to the halls on the right.

Mustang groaned loudly. He circled each spot gingerly, shaking his head at his luck. Suki and Hakoda were both massively confused at whatever Mustang was doing, but they chose not to say anything and let him continue.

Silently, he looked over some more of his sheets of papers while the other two just watched. He pulled out one blank sheet and tapped his pen on it and began writing while saying: "This is what we're doing. An hour before dinner, I'll come by your cells and break you out – "

"What – _how?" _Suki exclaimed.

"Focus," he said sternly, making her swallow her words. He continued, "There will be a time gap from when I break each of you out since your cells are both so far apart. When I break you out, you will take the guard's uniform, and put it on – _quickly. _The other prisoners might attract attention. Do you understand."

"No," Suki answered.

"Do you not understand what to do?"

"I don't understand _how _you're planning to accomplish this."

Mustang's face remained the same when he repeated, "Do you not understand what to do?"

"No, but –"

"As long as you understand what to do there is no need for excess information to distract you," he said strictly.

Suki's brow furrowed at his tone, but she nodded obediently. Mustang looked at Hakoda, "Do you understand?"

He nodded without argument.

"Very well." Mustang continued, "Next; after you put on the guard's clothes, you will both meet here," he pointed to the blueprints, "underneath the left wing staircase and through the hallway. Now pay attention, this is the important part."

He pointed at the first sheet again and said slowly, "On the walls, three feet apart, until you reach the staircase at the end, you will draw this. Size is irrelevant. Do you understand?"

They nodded wordlessly.

"After you draw these," Mustang said. "You will wait for me. You will not move or allow anyone downstairs until I arrive. Is that clear?"

Nods.

"Excellent." He sat back, collecting his papers.

Hakoda started, "Wait, that's it?"

"Yes."

"But you didn't tell us how we're getting out!"

Roy blinked slowly, "Didn't we _just _go over the plan or was I talking to myself...?"

"But how are we getting out – "

Suki cut him off quickly, "are you absolutely sure that this plan will get us out?"

The colonel met her steady gaze with one of his own, "85% sure."

"That's good enough for me," she said, sitting down and taking a small bite from her even smaller loaf of bread.

Hakoda, however, sputtered, "W-W-What!? But I don't get it!"

"Do you have a better plan?" Mustang deadpanned.

"As a matter of fact, I do," he said with a convinced nod. "We dig through our cells with spoons and use blankets to float up with the steam. I heard stories going around that one man once tried it but was shot down before he made it to th..e …. what, _what_?"

Mustang shook his head and decided it would be best not to comment on that. He stood up and patted Hakoda on the shoulder. "Just … don't forget, an hour before lunch. Be ready."

* * *

Mustang didn't know if it was heartless of him to not care when he knocked his guard unconscious. At least he caught her before she fell … ?

He called her into his cell to inspect _a small hole at the corner of his cell _and quickly pulled her helmet off and rammed his fist to her head. She fell without a sound. None of the other guards noticed.

He dragged her limp body to his bed and hid her under the covers. He nodded to himself. That's one thing crossed off his list. He forgot to account for the fact that her uniform was too small for him to wear. He tsk'ed.

Minutes dragged on before a male guard passed his cell and he jumped out, dragging him to his cell and wrestling him to the ground as silently as possible. It took some struggle to come out victorious, but his combat skills were still as sharp as ever. He quickly stripped the man of his uniform and put it on himself, lowering the mask that was attached to the helmet to cover his face.

He dragged the other body to the bed and covered them both. It looked awkward, but it would manage. He closed the cell door, scratched a small transmutation circle on the lock, and melted the metal together, making it almost impossible to open the door. That should buy him some time.

He walked away, and the other guards didn't suspect a thing.

He walked down the hall quickly, avoiding all the other guards he passed and focused on the point on the paper where he marked Hakoda's location. Since it was near his, he found it quickly. When he reached the corner that led to the hall, he stopped and peeked his head.

Four guards were here. His hall only had two during the early shift since it was smaller, so this would be more difficult to carry out since it meant more prisoners/witnesses.

He took a minute to briefly think, then drew a rough circle on the wall with his pencil. It took a while, but after it was completed, he pressed both hands on it and reaction lights flickered. Four rods of cement launched from the walls, each hitting one of the guards violently and knocking them over. Quickly, he ran down the hall looking for Hakoda's hall in between the other prisoner's loud enthusiasm.

Roy found Hakoda's cell and stifled a snort when he saw the man's shocked face. He grabbed the key from the unconscious guard's belt and unlocked his cell. "Come out."

Hakoda obeyed, his expression frozen on his face. Mustang pointed to one of the fallen guard's face and said, "Put his uniform on and move the rest quickly to your cell and lock the door." He handed him the key. "Do you remember where to meet with Suki?"

Hakoda nodded mutely and Mustang handed him the paper with the drawing. "Do it quickly," and left.

The older man finally found his voice and breathed a raspy, "H-Holy shit."

* * *

Mustang panted as he ran down the halls. He was stopped several times by other guards who demanded to know why he was running, and when he answered that the warren wanted to speak with his right away, they let him go easily.

Suki's cell was the first one by the corner and she spotted him immediately when he made the turn. He huffed and caught his breath, stealing a glance at the cracked clock that hung by the wall. Without wasting any more time than he already did, he quickly performed the same transmutation he used to knock out the previous guards and his results were the same.

The female prisoners were much louder than the male when they saw the guards fall, but Mustang ignored them as he quickly unlocked Suki's door. He gave her the same instructions as Hakoda and left her, but stopped when she called out to him.

"Hey! Where are _you_ going?"

"Personal business," he replied, and ran out.

* * *

**Step Two: Retrieve Belongings**

* * *

As he ran, he pulled out the sheet of paper that had the thorough drawing of the prison. One particular spot was boldly circled, and that's where he had his eyes on.

He ran up the stairs quickly, his hard boots clanking on each step. When he reached the top, he made a sharp turn and headed towards the door with the white circle painted on it crudely. Bingo.

He stopped to catch his breathe, hands on his knees. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he straightened and walked towards the door, until a someone shouted to him.

"Stop."

Mustang obeyed the voice behind him and turned. It was the warden, standing on the other side of the hall with his lips curled. Mustang scowled. His running around must have caused a commotion and called for the warden to personally inspect.

"Come," the warden demanded, his finger wagging at him like a master commanding a dog.

Mustang looked to the clock quickly – 10 minutes until the bell for lunch rang. Mustang smirked.

"Better protect your record, warden," he teased.

Roy pulled the door open with brute force and ran inside, slamming it shut behind him. He could hear the warden's rapid footsteps chase after from the other side, so Mustang etched a transmutation circle on the door and locked it shot.

Hard pounding and furious shouts followed from the other side of the metal door. Mustang ignored it and turned around – to face dozens of closets, cabinets and locked drawers with no labels. His shoulders slumped as he groaned.

Of course nothing was labeled; it's not like any of these things were meant to be returned. He shook his head and bent down to the nearest box, opening it up and searching through it.

The door behind him began glowing in heat and more voices could be heard from behind him. Mustang quickened his pace, dumping the contents in the box and looking through it. After the sixth box, and after the door was almost melted off, Mustang found what he was looking for.

He drew a sigil on the ground right underneath his feet, forming a hole underneath him. When the door was finally opened, there was nobody inside.

* * *

**Step Three: Escape**

* * *

Mustang landed on his feet a floor below, sending a tremor through his body. He took a few unsteady steps before he began running again, towards the direction of where Hakoda and Suki should be waiting for him.

He pulled off his mask from his face so he could breath better and jumped at the sound of the bell going off. He cursed violently. He should have been down there before the bell. He quickened his pace.

Fire suddenly whizzed past his ear, almost searing it off, and Mustang hissed at the burning. He turned. The warden stood with a furious expression with two guards on his side, each poised to attack.

"Stop him!" The old warden snarled.

Mustang didn't give them the chance and ran up the first staircase he encountered, while dozens of prisoners were being led down for lunch. Mustang smirked. As he ran in between the crowd, he could hear the warden shouting, "Find him! Don't let him get away!"

When he reached the top floor, he ran to the other staircase at the end. _Too many stairs! _He climbed down quickly, almost tripping on his own feet. He jumped down, ran and turned – and found Hakoda and Suki waiting for him. The walls were covered with transmutation circles, just like he instructed them to draw.

"What took you so long?" Hakoda asked.

Mustang shook his head, gasping for air. He swallowed and stood up. Hakoda noticed what was in his hands and exclaimed, flabbergasted, "This whole time you went to get your _clothes!?"_

"Now what?" Suki asked him when he failed to answer Hakoda.

"Now ... we get out," Mustang answered after a few seconds. He pressed his hands on one of the transmutation circles and focused his energy on activating it. It began to glow and he moved to the next one – and the next one – and the next – the next – the next –

"Roy! The guards are here! What are you doing!" Hakoda shouted when a few guards rounded the corner.

"I need more time," he said through grit teeth. "Stall them."

Suki stretched her arms the moment Mustang finished talking and ran towards the guards swiftly. She grabbed on of their arms, dropped him to the floor, then pulled him by the arm and tripped a few of them with his body. She leaped over the fire that was shot at her and dug her foot into one of their shins, dropping him to the ground. She grabbed one of the guards and threw him to another guard.

While Hakoda watched, mouth gaping, Mustang finished the last of the circles with a shaky breath. The walls were shaking violently, the reaction in process. He shouted, "Suki!" and she came running back.

"Are you hurt?" He asked, and she shook her head, saying, "There's more coming, though."

The walls began shaking even more dramatically and started to move. Suki took a step back at the movement, "W-what? What did you do? The walls are made of metal – _how_?"

Her exclamation was drowned out by the sound of metal twisting and turning grotesquely. The walls began folding end by end next to each other, almost like it was forming a bridge. Sunlight broke through each torn wall until the last wall touched the mouth of the volcano and they were practically outdoors.

Suki and Hakoda were wide eyed when they watched the walls form into a long metal, bridge. Steam slapped them in the face and their awestruck faces turned to Mustang, who look mildly impressed at his own work. He wiped his forehead with his arm and sighed, "I don't know _how _Fullmetal does it..."

"H-How …" Suki croaked dryly, but she regained her composure when dozens of guards flooded the corner and made their way to them. She cursed loudly – "Let's go!"

Apprehensively, they took one step on the newly transmuted bridge, wondering if it could hold. Mustang made his way to follow them, but then turned and picked up his clothes that he dropped on the floor. He rummaged through his military uniform's pockets, finally pulling a pair of gloves and slipping them on.

He pointed his hand to the guards – and snapped.

A torrent of fire shot out, and the ground below them combusted. Mustang didn't wait to see the result of his attack; he turned and followed his companions.

Only they weren't running. They were staring at him like he just grew a second head. Suki stammered, "D-Did you just … _firebend?"_

"Talk later," Mustang said gruffly, pulling her arm while he ran across the bridge. His feet fumbled after each step and his vision was blurring at the edges. His adrenaline tank was close to empty, and he could feel the exhaustion crawling through his skin and towards his mind, but he couldn't stop now. He wasn't done.

When they reached the end of the bridge, Mustang extended his hand and snapped, destroying the bridge he took so much energy to make. The metal pieces fell to the boiling water with a loud splash. The guards looked out from the opening in awe. Mustang's feet melted and he almost fell back if it wasn't for strong arms holding up.

"You okay there, Roy?" Hakoda asked.

He shook his head and pointed down, "Have to find a boat and get out. No time."

Hakoda frowned and looked at Suki, who just shrugged. He sighed and helped Mustang climb down the steep volcano and towards the rocky shore, the Colonel's arm swung over his shoulder. The sounds of alarms going off in the prison could be heard from afar, but they ignored it.

Hakoda looked around for a boat, but none could be spotted. "How about that?" Suki called, pointing to a war balloon that sat on a short cliff. Hakoda made a bemused face, "That … could work."

The three climbed onto the gondola of the blimp and Hakoda began lighting the fire. Mustang slid down to the floor with a huge sigh, his back against the short wall of the basket, as they took off to the sky. He was dizzy and nauseous behind comprehension to even understand what was happening. All he knew was that he was leaving that horrid prison. The plan to escape prison was accomplished. Which meant the first step to escaping this _world _was accomplished.

Now onto the second step: finding Fullmetal.

Mustang grimaced. _That's _going to be difficult.

He tucked his uniform behind his neck and closed his eyes. He was unconscious within seconds.

* * *

His mind was swimming through a black ocean of nothing. It was soothing and he could feel himself recharge. His sleep was clean from any dreams and thoughts, and he was fully dead in his mind.

When he awoke, he found that the black abyss had enveloped the sky, littered with only a few dozen visible stars.

Mustang sat up, stretching his arms and his back. He groaned at his stiff muscles, wondering how long he had been asleep. Last he'd remembered, it was afternoon when he left the prison. He stood up and noticed he was still inside the gondola of that odd contraption, but now he was in the middle of some sort of forest. Good, Mustang thought. They had strayed away from the prison. That was one problem solved, now onto the next one.

He stood up and stretched again. All the alchemy he used really took a toll on his body, leaving him sore and exhausted. But after resting, he felt much better.

Suki and Hakoda were standing next to each other, but they weren't on the gondola with him, rather, they were standing a few feet away on the grassy ground, talking to one another. When they saw him awake, they frowned.

"You bent fire," Suki said bluntly with no room for pleasantries.

"Yes," Mustang answered, climbing off the war balloon and taking his clothes with him.

"But the metal," Hakoda blurted. "How did you bend the metal?"

Mustang pursed his lips. The way they eyed him was just shouting mistrust. He predicted this suspicion to arise at this moment. It was only natural that they should be edgy about his alchemy.

"Do you remember when I said – " he stopped suddenly. Shuffling and twigs snapping could be heard from behind him. Someone else was here. Hakoda and Suki noticed his pause and followed his gaze.

From behind the trees, a short, plump old mad walked out. Mustang tensed. Just because they were no longer in prison didn't mean they were safe. Anyone could be an enemy – _everyone_ was an enemy.

"Who are you?" Mustang demanded. It would be dangerous if he heard or picked up anything from their brief talk.

"That's General Iroh."

Mustang paused when Suki answered on the old man's behalf. Why did she know who he was...?

"When we landed," Hakoda explained. "We ran into him. It was … ah … quite the meeting."

This time the old man spoke with a clear smile, "Roy, was it? I heard interesting things about you. I'm honored to meet the first man to escape the Boiling Rock."

Mustang's lips formed a straight line. "Thank you, General." He said tersely.

"No need for that. I haven't been a general for years now."

"I apologize for the rudeness and suspicion," Mustang said abruptly. "But _who_ exactlyare you and," he turned to his two companions, "_what _exactly is going on."

"Don't apologize; your suspicion is inevitable," Iroh said. "I happened to be walking by when I spotted the war balloon landing. I thought it was after me so I went to inspect it."

"After you? I don't understand..."

Hakoda stepped up to elaborate. "Iroh was a former general in the Fire Nation army, but some … things had happened and he's now considered a traitor. Just like us, he recently escaped prison. We crossed paths a few hours ago and came to an understandment."

Mustang's brow furrowed as he tried to digest the information. "Fire Nation..." he murmured. The old man looked harmless, but the Fire Nation was the main enemy. The fact that they trusted him so easily, though...

"He's trustworthy," Suki said, answering his unspoken question. But the old man raised a hand to cut her off, "Now, now. Let's have him judge me with his own eyes."

"Can I ask why you decided to stay with us instead of continuing on to wherever you were going?" Mustang asked bluntly. "What will you benefit from traveling with us?"

"I am searching for someone," Iroh answered. "My nephew. He has been separated from me. There is a chance that he can be found somewhere near the people Hakoda and Suki here are looking for."

Roy nodded, understanding. If Hakoda and Suki found the people they were looking for, then the General should be able to find the person he was looking for – and vice versa. It was logical for them to stick together.

"What about you," Suki asked Mustang. "You never told us what you planned to do after you escape."

"I am also looking for someone," he answered. "A subordinate of mine..."

"Ah, yes." Iroh hummed. "I was informed that you were a military man as well. Which army, however, was never specified." Iroh paused, and his gleaming eyes narrowed a bit. It was at that moment that Mustang realized that this man _knew. _"You have an odd aura around you, Mister Mustang." He paused. "You're not from here, are you?"

The Colonel bit the inside of his cheek, looking at Hakoda and Suki. Their wariness was impossible to miss, and Mustang knew he couldn't avoid the topic anymore. It had to come out sometime.

"Who are you really?" Hakoda asked quietly.

Mustang let out a large sigh that he had been holding in for quite some time now. He looked to the other man and began, "When I told you that I lost some of my memory, I was lying. The General's right – I'm not from here."

As he spoke, he watched their eyes widen with disbelief with every word that came out of his mouth.

* * *

Mustang couldn't fall back asleep after that; he was surprised that _they _did, actually. After all the information he gave them, it was a shock that they didn't laugh at his face and call him insane. It would be understandable if they did, but they didn't.

They had accepted his explanations with gasps and long silences, but without any objections. His alchemy was probably the main disputing factor of it all. Hakoda had to actually sit down to sort his mind out.

When he had answered all their fervid questions – and had sat in their silence of digesting it all – he asked his share and found that _he _was the one who had trouble comprehending his situation.

Their world – this world – was in bad shape. Mustang had experienced his share of hell when his country fell to war (_massacre_. That was a massacre. There was no way that could be considered a war. It was one-sided and it was just _bloodshed.) _but these people were experiencing a full _world _war – a worldwide _genocide._

And every _individual _was affected by it, from all over. The General, who's own brother was the master mind of this whole catastrophe, was a traitor to his own country for helping his own nephew. Hakoda, who's wife's life was taken because of the war and who's children were fighting _in it, _was forming his own army to end the war. Suki, who was a warrior all on her own, was struggling to find and free her fellow warriors who have been imprisoned.

Mustang could only dreadfully imagine how the rest of the world was coping with this hostility.

They had talked for hours, and when the third hour had passed, resting seemed like the only logical thing to do before setting out.

It had begun to rain a few minutes after they had all closed their eyes.

Mustang's, however, remained open.

After all the talk about what was happening in this world, his mind drifted to the possibilities of what could be happening in _his _world.

How long had he been here, anyway? A day – two maybe? Or was it a week – or even a month?

The Lieutenant was the only person to see him be decomposed by the transmutation. What did she do after that? Did she wait there, expecting him to come back? Did she panic? Did she scream? Did she cry? Did she –

No, Hawkeye was stronger than that. She would have thought of a rational thing to do. She had some experience with alchemy, so she should have understood the basics of what happened.

But did she know he was _here? _Did she know he was alive – did she think he was dead?

She did, Mustang thought. It only made sense to presume he was dead. For the amount of time he had been gone, it would be understandable to think that he was dead, never coming back.

He wondered, briefly, how she broke the news to his men. Would they cry over him?

Hughes most definitely would. He was too soft and sentimental for his own good. He probably was the one who spoke during the funeral.

Hawkeye probably wore the same stoic expression she did when she stood before her father's grave.

He wondered if it rained during his funeral, like it was now.

Alphonse probably wouldn't attend his funeral. He would be in Resembool, attending his older brother's funeral. How did Hawkeye tell the cold, expressionless suit of armor that his brother was dead? Poor Alphonse, standing by the grave that was dug next to his mother's, unable to cry or grieve properly.

He probably hates Mustang. He did. He hated him.

Why shouldn't he? Mustang was the won who brought along Edward to the mission that ultimately led to his death. He had the right to hate him.

Mustang was supposed to help those two. He brought them along to the horrible lifestyle of the military in hopes of finding a way to restore their bodies – albeit, at first it was for the promotion and recognition. But he grew attached to them, as much as he disliked admitting that, especially around the gushy Hughes.

He promised himself he wouldn't let anything happen to them.

What a failure he was.

He _failed._

Failed them both.

A flash of lightning erupted and Mustang perked his head.

No he didn't. He didn't fail them. _Not yet._

They weren't dead. Mustang was alive. He was breathing. He was thinking. He was in another world, not the afterlife. There still was a chance to get back to Amestris – to everyone. Mulling over his predicament was useless. He had to return. He had to find Edward and return.

_But where is Fullmetal? _A nagging voice piped from behind his mind, patronizing him with every syllable it sounded out. _He could be dead. What if he was the fee to bring you here?_

No. He wasn't, Mustang told himself. But he wasn't as convincing as he thought he was. Artfield was the fee, he said. It was Artfield, it has to be. Because –

– _'The world isn't that cruel?' _The voice finished his sentence, and it soon obtained the voice he heard from when he was in the white room. _What naïve thinking you have there. You can't honestly expect that to be the reason._

Fullmetal wasn't the one who activated the circle, Mustang thought.

_That's irrelevant. Alchemy takes what it's given._

Artfield activated the circle. It was his transmutation. He was the fee.

_The fee could be anything – anyone. Whatever is on the circle during activation is the offering._

But I was on the circle – I'm still here.

_And so is Artfield, while Edward Elric is the receipt for your trip._

Fullmetal is here.

_Where's your proof?_

He has to be here, just like how I'm here.

_He's dead, Alchemist._

He's here.

_Equivalent Exchange._

One human does not cost the same as transporting someone!

_He was only half a human._

He's alive – just like how I'm alive.

_He's dead, and you're alone._

Another flash of lightning made it's round, and Mustang decided that he was in need of sleep more than he thought.

* * *

Suki, Hakoda and Iroh were awakened by a spent Mustang, who had bags forming underneath his eyes. They chose not to comment on that.

He told them that there was a village not far from where they were, and presented them hooded cloaks to wear to fend off the rain and suspicious eyes.

Mustang was wearing his blue military uniform rather than the rags he was forced to wear in the Boiling Rock. He was more comfortable in it, he told them. They were mesmerized by the unique design of it.

When they began trudging through the soggy floor, the rain had stopped and suffocating mist replaced it.

Their walk wasn't quiet and somber; it was actually quiet enjoyable. Hakoda was telling tales of his children's adventures that they told him about, and Suki provided her own from the time when she was with them.

Iroh laughed along, although it was quiet tension filled for him. His nephew was on "bad terms" (as he put it) with Hakoda's kids because of the war. Iroh had no ill-feelings for any of them, even with his roots, but he couldn't really say the same about his nephew.

"I'm sure his eyes will be opened someday, though," Iroh kept saying with a smile that reached his eyes. It was hard to believe this person was the brother of the man who had dreams of sending this world into hell in a few days.

In essence, it was hard to look at these three people, who had lost so much but were still able to smile at a story and laugh at an overused joke. It reminded him, painfully, of his days after he returned from the civil war and how he was _nothing _like them; leaving the office after hours only to spend more numbing hours at a local, dusty tavern, to later return home to an equally dark house where he stayed awake for even longer hours in self-loathing. He couldn't look in the mirror for weeks without swallowing back the disgust of his reflection – he couldn't look at the hands that were only bloodstained in his mind.

These people, truly, were something extraordinary.

"Can you tell us more about your world?" Suki had kept asking with an eager smile to hear more wonderful stories about the unreal place. Mustang talked about the people and the places of his world, but never went into detail about the wars and the tears. It didn't seem _fair, _in a way, to talk about his tragedy when these people were living in a much worse condition now.

He told Suki about Amestris and Drachma and Xing. He told her about the automobiles and the radios and the guns – all the things this country lacked that Suki wanted to hear more about.

He told her about Hawkeye and her pinpoint accuracy and how she was feared more than the Fuhrer.

He told them about how Falman was a walking memory stick and was perfect for blackmailing someone when they said something stupid in his presence while drunk. How Fuery was a complete genius when it came to technology, but was scared beyond explanation to drive in a car in fear of it randomly exploding.

How Havoc's excuse for skipping work – since the moment he joined the military – was because of a break-up and how Breda once accidentally stepped on the Lieutenant's dog and got on his knees, begging for forgiveness in fear of the pup retaliating and slaughtering him.

He told her about how Edward once managed to bring back a bill with him from a simple inspection with a total of more than a million cen for damage repair – and more than half a month's salary on sweets.

"Can you tell us more about Alchemy?" Hakoda asked with wide fascinated eyes, hungry for information on the unknown. Mustang pridefully and without hesitation told the man about the basics and fundamental's of alchemy – about its laws and powers and benefits.

He told him about the structure of the circle, and by comparing it with bending, noticed that the gap of difference between the two was much larger than they had both expected.

He told him about his flame alchemy – only briefly. He explained how not _everyone _could be an alchemist; only those who are completely dedicated and are willing to spend their lives studying it can become one.

He told him how, yes, a truly intelligent and _rare _alchemist is capable of bending - _"ah, sorry. I mean transmuting? Yeah, that." _– all the elements, but it requires much blood and grit and sweat and tears and _years _to do so.

(Edward might be a special case for his clapping alchemy, but he is a tragic exception, and it is unnecessary for these people to know the details of that.)

"Can you tell us more about the government in your country?" Iroh asked inquisitively, eyes curious like a toddler but with a tiny shard of hope floating around it. Mustang could understand that hope – the hope of renewing this country into something equal to fairness.

He told the General about the Parliamentary Republic country and how was is mostly run by the military. He told them about Fuhrer King Bradley's strict and merciless rule and how he was the one who initiated the civil war and then ended it.

He told Iroh about how he was planning to climb up the ranks and change the country. How he wanted to become the leader, but not be the fuhrer – but the president in the newly established democracy. Before he knew it, he was babbling to Iroh, who's soft eyes silently ushered him to continue. He told him how he desperately wanted to repent for his sins and regrets. He told him how he brought Edward into the military, and how he would quietly reflect on that decision when he would see him walk into his office – battered, bruised, bleeding, limping – no where closer to his goal then when he first came two years ago.

"After a while," Iroh said with a sad, mutual sigh. "those regrets become a part of you. You can't change that – it's as useless as chasing clouds." But then he pointed to the cloudy, wet sky above and said, "however, clouds can be reshaped, just like your future. You are here _now – _you have the power to change your day and future now, and make it one without any regrets."

Mustang didn't feel reveled enough to take in the words the wise man with the sage-like atmosphere had to offer, nor did he feel like interpreting it to a deeper meaning.

He just wanted to sleep.

It had been almost an hour when they finally began seeing other people walking the same road as them. Mustang was beginning to doubt that he had led them the right way. When he left early in the morning to get the rain cloaks, it took him no less than twenty minutes to find civilization. He was getting very annoyed with himself for wasting more time than he had.

It was after a few minutes that a peculiar girl ran past them.

Mustang mused that she was quite pretty if she didn't have that enraged snarl plastered on her face, or that horrid cut running down her cheek, over-flooding with angry blood.

When his entourage froze at the sight of the girl, he knew something was wrong. When the girl stopped and examined the four with angry confusion which warped to a sadistic grin, he knew something was definitely, _definitely_ wrong.

"Uncle!" She exclaimed with a voice that wanted to sound amused and patronizing but let slip pure resent. Mustang followed her gaze to the person she was addressing – Iroh – and quickly assessed the situation. If Iroh were her uncle, then she must be the Fire Lord's daughter, since the General never mentioned any other sibling. As daughter of the most sinister man in the world, it says a lot about what type of person she could be; misunderstood, power hungry, lonely, gloomy –

– a monster.

"...and that filthy Kyoshi peasant," she sneered with more detest at Suki, who tensed when the other girl's eyes shifted to her. Mustang had never seen such pure, raw hatred on someone so young. "Why aren't you rotting in prison like the scums you are?"

Iroh shrugged, "It didn't fit my accommodations."

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to see that annoying face of yours anymore."

"And I am ashamed to see your face so distraught," Iroh said sadly. "And that injury on your face. My, it looks painful – I hope it doesn't scar. Did you get into a fight?" He spoke like he was attending a family reunion, which was partially true, in a sense, which seemed to infuriate the girl more.

Every word that floated out of his mouth made her teeth clench harder and harder. Mustang could see what Iroh was doing, but he didn't know this girl. He didn't know what she was capable. He didn't know if Iroh was taking the right step.

"Don't speak to me so casually!" She demanded. "Address me like you would address your death!" She must have noticed her outburst at that moment, or noticed that her uncle was just railing her up. Either way, she took a deep breath and her eyes steadied. She wiped her cheek with a swift motion and said, "This is nothing. A rat slipped through my fingers and I plan to deal with it soon. But maybe I have to deal with you maggots first."

"That's not like you to let someone bypass you, Azula," Iroh lectured. "Haven't you been taught that you shouldn't underestimate your opponent? Especially now, with four against one."

"Underestimate? Ha!" She wiped her cheek again. "He was a fool to go against me – I'll make sure to have him suffer for his mistake!"

"He really did a mark on you," Iroh murmured. "Was it Zuko? Or was it the Avatar?"

"Those fools could never even touch me!" She hissed venomously. Azula then paused. She flared her nose, eyes widening, when she said, "Oh, _that's _it. You're looking for Zuko and think I could tell you where he is? Is that it? How tactless of you, Uncle! I expected a little more."

She turned to Suki with a wide grin, "And _you_ probably think it was that water tribe brute who did this to me, hoping that he would be around here, too. How pathetic! That fool would never survive a second against me."

"Don't you dare insult my son," Hakoda suddenly and harshly growled at Azula. He took a step forward, just daring her to say more.

"You have the nerve to tell _me_ what to do? You're as senseless as your brat!" She laughed cynically, watching their faces morph into angry expressions. Teeth baring in sick satisfaction, she turned to Mustang, eyes shining menacingly. "And who's this? Another member of your pathetic search party?"

Mustang remained silent, glaring at her, not in the sort of angry manner, but eyes narrowed enough to simply scrutinize her.

"Too scared to talk? You should be! With a flick of my wrist I can send you to hell!"

No response.

"What a laugh – He can't even get a word out! What's the matter, worm? Are you afraid of me?"

Silence.

_"Answer me when I am talking to you!"_ She barked loudly, the volume making Suki jump from surprise.

Eerily silence engulfed them. Suki swallowed and looked from Azula to Mustang, wondering what the man was doing. He didn't know Azula – he didn't know what she could do. Provoking her would definitely not turn out in their favor.

"Answer me!" Azula demanded again, her hair bouncing off her messy bun as she shouted violently.

Mustang did not answer her. He studied her with his calculating eyes, watching her heave in frustration. He let the silence linger a little longer before asking, "Tell me who gave that scar."

"You're telling _me _what to do!? Know your place, you disgusting –"

"You're avoiding the question," Mustang stated.

"What?"

"You don't want to answer the question," Mustang continued in a firm, calm tone. "Is it because the answer is too humiliating to answer out loud? You were defeated, weren't you? But you refuse to admit it."

She breathed harder at his words, wiping her bloody cheek. Her mouth twitched. "What would you know!?"

"Perhaps you did underestimate your opponent?" Mustang went on, voice more leveled and a tone sharper. "You've lost for the first time in a while, haven't you? Your face is cut - that's proof of your defeat."

"Shut up!"

"The humiliation of losing to this person is eating at you - especially the type of person it was. Who was it? Was it a child – adult? – from the Water Nation? – a traitor from your own country? – a friend of yours? – the Avatar?"

"I said shut your mouth before I shut it for you!"

"Or maybe," Mustang said lowly. "It was someone else. Someone unexpected. Someone you've never seen before.""What are you getting at?" She demanded unsteadily. "What do you know?"

Mustang kept his face expressionless when he said, "He bent all the elements but he wasn't the avatar – am I correct?"

Azula's eyes widened dramatically and Mustang knew he won. "You know him!?" She began to shout incredulously. "You know that golden rat, don't you!?"

"Tell me where he is," The Colonel demanded.

She swung her arm violently out of pure rage, a wave of heated blue flame erupted out and flying past Mustang, incinerating the trees behind him. He stayed frozen to the ground when the flame flew by him, trying his best not to seem intimidated.

"_Don't you tell me what to do!" _She exploded.

Roy maintained his posture. Azula stood straighter, eyes glaring into his steady ones and said with fists clenched, "Know your place or I'll give you the same punishment as I gave that brat for his ignorance!"

A flash of emotion flashed in Mustang's face and Azula caught on to it quick with a wicked grin, "Hit a mark, did I? Don't worry, you'll find your little friend's ashes not too far from here once I'm done with you, _if _you can get past me, that is."

Mustang cursed himself for his slip, but disregarded it that moment. She was using _his_ tactic now. How cowardly. However, it's not easy to rile _him _up. Only very few things managed to anger him to the point where he couldn't register his own actions. She could try, but it was futile. Mustang still had the advantage since he was the collected one here.

He responded to her, saying, "I think I have a pretty high chance of getting past you just fine. Since my '_little friend' _managed to ruffle you up a bit," he gestured to her with an impressed nod, "and considering I'm three times his size and three times more experienced, this should be a breeze."

Azula crossed her arms and unfolded violently, spewing fire to the moist ground that hissed in contact. "You have the same power as him? No matter. You'll be dead within a minute once I start."

"Then show me. The suspense is _killing_ me," Mustang teased, tugging his gloves tighter. She clenched her fists so tight that they tinted white, and she brought an arm up to shoot –

– But Roy was quicker and he snapped violently.

Fire exploded in front of Azula and the ground shook. He snapped again, deliberately knocking down the trees in her direction. He let no time escape.

In the mud, he drew a sigil and planted his hands on it. He heard Azula cough but payed no heed to it. The transmutation lit to life and a trench was dug through the muddy ground. He grabbed Suki, Hakoda and Iroh and shoved them a little too harshly inside it before he dove as well, drawing another circle to cover the opening with mud.

"What are yo –" Suki began but a gloved hand quickly silenced her in the muddy darkness.

Azula blew away the fallen trees from her path and found that the four people she had planned to finish off were nowhere in sight. She looked around her – left – right – left – right –

Nowhere.

"You coward!" She half screeched, half laughed. "Running away? Running away!"

Mustang could hear her howls from under the ground and ignored her taunts. She continued on talking like he was still standing in front of her.

"You can run but just remember that _I will find you! _I will find you and that rat and I will kill you _both_!" Her laughing stopped and in a much darker tone, she grunted, "No one makes a fool out of _me."_

It was quiet for sometime after that. Mustang didn't take any chances getting out of the trench just yet.

Suki made a move to say something but he tightened his grasp on his mouth, which she didn't particularly like, ultimately leading her to bite him. She remained silent though.

A few more minutes passed surrounded by mud that was steadily caving in. When more minutes passed, Mustang extended his hand and pushed the ground off of them, standing up and helping each one of them out.

"Why didn't you..." Suki began tentatively, unsure how to word her question. Mustang saved her the trouble of finishing, "Fight?" He shrugged, "Many reasons; it would have been a waste of our time, I'm not at my full strength yet, but most importantly, I don't know _her. _I can't begin a battle without fully having some understandment of the enemy."

"Well, I know her, and I could tell you that you dodged one hell of a storm right there."

Mustang gave a tired smile, "Good to know."

* * *

They resumed their trail after that. They never did manage to make it to the village. While following the path, a boy intercepted Iroh and started asking him questions, only to freeze. The boy was Iroh's nephew, Zuko.

He had been traveling with a group of other kids, and two of those kids also happened to be Hakoda's son and daughter. Luck had seemed to be on their side today, and the reunion was more than heartwarming. Mustang smiled fondly at that.

Happy tears were spilled everywhere, jokes were thrown lightly at each other and smiles were on everyone's face. Hakoda moved to introduce Mustang to everyone, and Roy was more than happy to meet the kids that the adults looked up to.

He registered their names quickly; Zuko was Iroh's nephew and had a horrid scar on the side of his face that Mustang didn't have any trouble identifying it as a burn wound. Katara and Sokka were Hakoda's daughter and son, respectively, and they each inherited their father's dim tan and startling eyes. Toph was the short girl with choppy hair that Mustang noticed was blind. Aang was the glorified Avatar who –

"… _it was almost like what I felt when I was near Ed …"_

Ed –

Edward –

_Fullmetal – !_

Mustang didn't give them a chance to say another word, quick to question them as much as hecould, squeezing them of all the information they had. They were guarded kids, granted, but Mustang refused to let them keep any information from him.

Edward was here – _here._

Mustang felt like a heavy load was lifted off his shoulders and breathed more loosely. Fullmetal was here – he wasn't dead – he wasn't lost – he was _here _– _here._

Suki showed them to an abandoned mine cave and they took refuge there for the time being. The Colonel sat and listened to what the kids had to say about Edward.

The Toph girl had encountered him a few days ago, had a brief conversation with him, and then he left abruptly. Mustang snorted. That sounded like Fullmetal. Then Zuko had found him sleeping in a forest, and brought him back to the rest of the kids so Katara – she had a unique ability for using her water to heal – could look at his leg. But Edward again left abruptly after that.

(The children all looked nervous when mentioning that part but Mustang chose to question them about that later.)

Later they ran into him again in a village that was not too far away from here, where he was residing in a small inn since his leg was acting up again. This time they were able to corner Ed and uphold an actual conversation with them. They gave him valuable information - such as this Pheonixdragon blood that piqued Roy's interest - while he gave them information that wasn't really _valuable _but only satisfactory to their curiosities.

The kids seemed hurt and affronted when they explained to Mustang how he repeatedly declined their offer for him to tag along with them. Mustang didn't find that surprising. That was Ed's character; he was pushing them away so they wouldn't get involved in his problems.

Afterward, the kids left Ed in the inn, but returned the next day to visit him again. However, he wasn't there anymore. And neither was the inn. It was completely burned down. Mustang felt his blood run cold when they said that the locals believed that it was Azula's doing.

So it _was _Edward who fought her. He was just taking a lucky guess when insinuating to Azula that Ed was the one who cut her. _Dammit, Fullmetal! _Mustang fumed inwardly. _You just had to piss off the wrong people!_

When they finished talking, Katara announced that eating would be the next phase of action. Mustang, however, was too consumed by his thoughts to hear what she said. _His_ next phase of action was to find Edward. He couldn't be far, the Colonel ruled out, since Azula had recently run into him. But if he's hurt...

Aang had tapped his shoulder lightly, waking him from his thoughts. Katara and Zuko had left to get food, and Aang wanted to talk to him about something. Something important, the boy added nervously. Mustang was all ears, but after a few minutes of listening to the boy speak, was having doubts that he was hearing him correctly.

Edward's presence sparked something in Aang that gave him the impulse to attack the blonde. Aang saw Ed as a threat, and vice versa only less violently. Hearing this, Mustang ruled out that it didn't make any sense, but Aang insisted that it was true and that it might be something spiritual.

"Spiritual?"

"...You don't have spirits in your world...?"

"That's just a fantasy – a myth."

That seemed to make the situation make even less sense for both parties. It was even more confusing since the sensation wasn't felt from Mustang and only Ed. Mustang wanted to brush it off as something not to worry about, but Aang disagreed persistently. It was something serious, the boy said. Mustang didn't understand.

Roy cradled his head.

Fullmetal was definitely a handful.

Their conversation was cut short when running footsteps thundered outside. Mustang's head perked up –

– speak of the devil, he thought grimly.

* * *

**Author's Note: 1/15/13**

Every chapter seems to be longer than the next one DEAR GOD I HAVE A PROBLEMS. Also, also, _also _I wanted to update this as soon as possible because oh my gosh I got accepted into the college that I most wanted yesterday! That's right, you're looking at a university girl, oh _yeah! _I know most of you could care less but I;m so excited I'm literally just telling _everybody! _And I got a super pricey scholarship for four years! ARE YOU GUYS PROUD OF ME BECAUSE I AM PROUD OF ME – ok I'll stop. Here's the preview for next chapter~

* * *

**Next Chapter: And Then Came Bad Luck**

**Mustang wondered if the universe was purposely separating them or maybe Edward was just being a pain in the ass and doing it on purpose. The latter seemed more believable. **


	7. And Then Came Bad Luck

**Intersecting Points**

* * *

**Part II - 2**

* * *

_**And Then Came Bad Luck**_

* * *

/ "_ Grudges are for those who insist that they are owed something; forgiveness, however, is for those who are substantial enough to move on_ " /

* * *

Iroh's tale of how he escaped prison was not as flamboyant as Mustang's. His story was short, chopped, and to the point – _"I broke out when the time came and had been wandering about, enjoying the fresh air"_. It also didn't receive the same awestruck reaction as Mustang's, but it filled their curiosity.

Much to Edward's demise, the Colonel wanted to hear what _he_ had been up to the past couple of days. Ed had tried to glance away from his gaze so that he wouldn't ask any questions, but it was difficult to avoid those piercing eyes.

He could tell that when Mustang asked simply, "So, explain to me what you've been up to, Edward," it precisely translated to, "Report, Fullmetal". Ed cringed at that. It was obvious to him that one of the kids had brought Mustang up to speed on the past events, but the Colonel was a thorough man. He had to hear the story from all angles.

Ed suppressed a scowl when he chronicled his narrative. He knew Mustang would not be pleased. He didn't care, really, that Mustang would disapprove - which he knew he would. The man had a fetish for precision, and judging by how perfectly executed his escape from the Boiling Rock was, he held it in stride. Edward, on the other hand, had been sloppy. It annoyed him to confess it to himself, but it was true.

"You were sloppy," Mustang stated.

Ed scowled like a tiger that just missed its prey. "Like I had a choice."

"I would be lying if I said I expected anything better from you," the man sighed. Toph snorted at that.

That was another thing that was annoying him; everyone was listening in on their conversation. Not that he was particularly bothered by them, just that they watched the exchange like it was some kind of show. It amused them. Even that old man had the lines of a smile forming on his face. Ed didn't see what was so amusing about being lectured by a pompous bastard.

Of course, Ed knew he was overreacting. It wasn't their fault that he was so riled up all of a sudden. Specifically, it was just Aang.

Edward could feel his insides shudder like rattling blinds every time their eyes met. Obviously it was fear. He was scared of this kid - which was ridiculous because he wasn't scared of anything. That kid didn't even look like he could hurt a fly, yet here he was letting out this air of a monster. A horrifyingly grotesque aura that suffocated him like a black blanket of anguish, and he felt like he would do _anything_ to pull it off of him.

But he _couldn't_ – because he _had_ to be here, in this mine, with these people, because Mustang was here, and he couldn't leave without the bastard.

But he wanted to _go_.

To get away from that _monster_

_monster_

_monster_

_monster _

And the fact that he couldn't leave frustrated him enormously. The longer he stayed here, less than two feet away from Aang, the more he felt like he would just collapse into a murky puddle of fear. His hands were beginning to shake with anxiety. He tried to contain himself, and he felt like he was doing a pretty good job at it, but it was hard, and he felt like he might just explode.

Mustang could tell. Of course he could tell. That man never missed anything. His eyes would narrow in that familiar way Ed recognized whenever Mustang was in his _analyzing_ phase. He had that look that he sported whenever Ed would walk into his office and he would try to figure out what happened before letting the boy speak. Ed didn't like that look. It pissed him off.

Ed was annoyed. He was annoyed at everything and he could feel himself getting angrier over the things that he _knew_ he shouldn't be bothered by.

_Why the hell did they have to stay here, anyways?_

Everyone knew about the unknown sensation that passed between him and Aang, so why are they so _insistent_ in letting him trail along with him. He just didn't get it and that infuriated him.

"Ed!'

"What?" He instinctively snapped, but swallowed his snarl when he noticed everyone was staring. Oh, right – they were all here. For a moment, he felt like he was by himself, surrounded by his gnawing thoughts.

"You were spacing out." Katara said slowly, worry lacing her words, which seemed to be a normal occurrence for her. The girl always worried. It reminded him of Winry, only less violent.

He blew a sigh from his nose and sagged against the ragged mouth of the cave. "Oh, sorry," He mumbled. "What were you saying?"

They exchanged looks at his odd behavior, which Ed caught with an aggravated sigh. "We were just talking about what we're going to do next," Katara was saying, but then stopped. "Are you feeling alright? You don't look too good."

"I'm fine." He muttered annoyingly."Just tired." Tired was an understatement. Exhausted was an understatement. He didn't know how he felt – it was a multitude of emotions that he couldn't organize. He knew he was being unreasonable with his snappy behavior, but he couldn't help it.

"What, didn't get enough sleep in that cozy inn?" Toph joked, and Ed knew it was a joke, but it aggravated him even further. He stole a glance at Aang, and his insides quivered when their eyes met. Ed blinked harshly and looked away. _What the hell was wrong with him?_

"I did," he began with a grumble, shaking off that horrid feeling. "But trying not to get killed by that batshit crazy chick's lightning kinda takes a toll on me." He paused and looked to Zuko. "No offense."

"Believe me, none taken."

"Language." Mustang instinctively scolded smoothly.

"Oh yeah, you never told us what happened to make her want to kill you." Sokka said offhandedly, as if Ed was _supposed _to tell them.

"Nothing."

"I highly doubt that." Zuko remarked slowly, crossing his arms. "She doesn't just have it out for someone for no reason."

Ed rolled his eyes, his teeth gritting. "Yeah, well, now she did. She just came up to me and started asking me stupid questions."

"What kind of questions?" Toph asked.

"Does it really matter?" Ed growled, ignoring the annoying glare Mustang was sending his way. "Stupid questions, I don't know," he continued.

But he did know. She asked him where the Avatar was, and where Zuko was. But he wasn't going to tell them that. They didn't need to know, and he didn't want them to know.

There was a pause before Sokka laughed. "You're really cranky today, aren't you?"

"_I'm tired_." He hissed harshly between clenched teeth.

"Ed..." Katara was frowning at him. He couldn't distinguish it from her normal worried frown or an annoyed frown because he wasn't telling them anything.

"It's not important, so why don't you just leave it at that?" He retorted sharply. He was sick of the questions and he was extremely annoyed with the fact that Mustang was just sitting there, not saying anything – just staring at him.

Katara's face flushed in impatience. She fumed, "because we need to know why she's after you!"

"She's after me 'cause she's fucking insane, that's why!" Ed finally thundered.

"Would you stop cursing? I can't believe you talk to your mother with that kind of language!"

That was the snap. Ed jumped to his feet. The enraged shout was at the tip of his tongue before Mustang stopped him.

"Edward." The man said calmly, not looking at him, but rather, outside. "Why don't you go and examine the rest of this cave?" He picked up a stick from the fire and handed it to Ed. He stared at Ed's confused and furious face with subtle eyes.

"But –!"

With a clipped voice that left no room for argument, he stated, "I wasn't asking, Fullmetal." The way he slowly pronounced his second name made Ed snarl, but he nonetheless obeyed. He snatched the stick from the man's hand and stormed deeper into the cave, muttering curses under his breathe.

"...What was that all about?" Sokka finally asked after a long lapse of silence. All eyes turned to Mustang.

"He's sensitive when it comes to his mother," He answered nonchalantly. "Just let him be for a while. He needs to blow off some steam."

Sokka wasn't convinced. "I don't get what he was so pissed off about before," he grumbled.

"I'm sure if _you_ were thrown into a whole other world where the chances of you going home and seeing all your loved ones again were slim, _you_ wouldn't be all smiles and laughs, now would you?" The response came out harsher than he intended, but he couldn't help it. Mustang sighed and ran a hand down his face. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. I'm just ... tired."

An uncomfortable stillness impregnated the air. The children stared at Mustang, then at each other, then to the ground in quiet guilt. Now that they've had the time to actually _see, _they've noticed how haggard Mustang actually looked. His face was radiating exhaustion, and his eyes seemed dull in comparison to theirs. If Mustang was this bad, Edward was definitely worse.

Aang shook his head. "You shouldn't be sorry, You're right." He was quiet for so long that Roy was a little surprised to hear his voice. He watched him with a critical eye as he continued, "You guys had it hard, and we want to help._ I_ want to help, but..." Aang looked down at his hands sadly, his face in a painful grimace. "I only seem to make things worse. You've all noticed it, right?"

Their answer came out in a silent, morbid nod. The weight of the situation fully fell on them at that quiet moment. For all their efforts to help out, they just _couldn't. _An invisible wall blocked them from giving their aid, and they had no way to knock it down.

_Of course_ Edward was in such a foul mood. It was increasingly obvious yet they had completely missed it. They were too caught up in their current events to see it. A shared look of shame swept through their faces, and Mustang was somewhat relieved that they finally figured it out.

Katara looked away, towards where Ed went. "I'm going to go apologize," She said finally. "Sokka."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming."

.

* * *

.

"Ed?"

He had his back to both of them, one hand in his pocket and the other holding the fire to navigate him deeper into nowhere in particular. If he heard Katara call him, he didn't acknowledge it. He kicked a rock instead. He muttered, "go away, I'm," Then, in a voice obnoxiously similar to Mustang's, said, "_examining the rest of the cave."_

Katara stifled a grin at the horrible imitation. "Can we talk?"

"About?"

She looked at Sokka, took a breathe, and said, "We're sorry about before."

"Don't." Ed turned around and stopped her with pursed lips. He kicked another rock with his automail foot, and an audible _clank _sounded. "Just don't."

"But, Ed..."

He shook his head. "No, stop." He rolled his eyes, but his annoyance was more to himself than to them, and they could see it from his scowl. "Look. It's my fault. I'm just being," He paused. A brat? A jerk? An ass? Maybe all of them. He searched his head for the appropriate adjective. "I'm just irritated, okay? I'm mad, and annoyed, and pissed and I don't know why." He stopped. "No, scratch that. I _do_ know why, but I can't do anything about it.

Sokka figured that that must have been Ed's way of apologizing. If it was, it was horrible. He stepped up and said solemnly, "Ed. We all know about you and Aang. And he does, too. And no one blames you for it."

Ed frowned. "Yeah, but _I'm_ causing it. Which is exactly the reason why I _didn't_ want to go with you guys! I'll just screw everything up for you.''

A heavy weight was lifted off Katara's shoulders at hearing that. For some odd reason, she had it in her head that Ed was purposely avoiding them because he didn't like them. Now thinking about it, it should have been obvious to her the real reason. "We don't care." She told him. "Our lives are already screwed up as it is."

He snorted darkly. "That makes two of us." He kicked the rock again.

"We're still sorry." She said again, this time her voice soft and more sincere. She looked down and added, "We were out of line."

Ed didn't respond, but he knew what she was insinuating. He looked at her with blank eyes, probably trying to read her, but gave up with another kick.

Suddenly, Sokka said, "Our mother was killed by a Fire Nation soldier when were young." Ed paused, his foot inches away from the rock. He put it down and looked at Sokka, listening. "We were on our own after that. It was … hard."

A pause. "Your dad?"

"Out fighting."

He couldn't think of anything intelligent to respond with so he settled with a quiet, "Oh." When he looked up again and actually _looked _at them, he froze. It was like looking at a cruel mirror. He saw his and Al's lives in theirs. They were practically the Elric's of this world. Two siblings, left on their own after their mother's death; without a father present. But their lives were definitely _much _different than his.

"If you..." Ed licked his lips. He didn't know why he was asking this, but a part of him desperately wanted to know the answer. Maybe for closure? He didn't know, but his mouth was moving now without his consent. "If you knew there was a way to bring your mom back to life, would you have done it? Back then?"

Sokka and Katara were visibly stunned by the ergodic question, but it did seem to affect them in some way. Katara reached for the blue stone on her necklace and looked down. "Of course I would want to," she whispered hoarsely. Then, in a firmer voice, said, "But I wouldn't do it."

Ed winced. "But, why?"

"I don't know about your world, but here, we believe in fate and destiny," Sokka explained, in place of his sister, who nodded along. "Even though I would have given _anything_ to get her back, if it wasn't for her death, I wouldn't be _here_. We would have never left the Water Tribe, never found Aang, never met Toph or Zuko, or you and Mustang." He shrugged. "Everything happens for a reason. And as horrible as it was that we lost our mother ... something good came out of it, I guess, if you look at it that way."

Ed shook his grimly with a sad smile, "I wish I had that mindset when I was younger."

There was a low, humming noise that echoed in the cave, interrupting whatever he would have said next. Sokka cocked his head, "What's that?"

The answer slammed into Ed like a truck.

"Shit!" He cursed loudly but that was all he was able to get out before a blast was heard overhead and the whole mine began to shake violently. He was able to steal one glance at Katara's wide, frightened eyes before the mine collapse on top of them and enveloped them in darkness.

.

* * *

.

Ed felt pressure all over his body and knew something was wrong before he opened his eyes to meet more darkness. He tasted dust and dirt and rocks in his mouth and could feel bruises beginning to swell on his back and chest. The only intelligent thing he could think of doing was groan.

Ed coughed a few times and tried to sit up – which was surprising because he didn't even know he was lying down to begin with. He could feel rocks rolling down his body when he pushed himself up. It was completely dark, impossible to see anything, but he could feel claustrophobia crawling up his spine.

It took him only a moment to realize what had happened before his eyes widened. He turned around, only to find more darkness. Regardless, he still called out.

"Katara?"

There was no answer. Ed pushed himself further up only to bump his head on a ragged rock. He tried again, this time louder, "Katara!"

He heard some movement and the sound of pebbles falling from behind him and turned, only to hit his head on that ragged rock _again_. Cursing loudly, he blinked several times, hoping that his eyes would adjust to the darkness. "Katara? You there?"

There was a soft moan and more movement and then a yelp of, "Oww..." He heard her groan irritably, pause, then ask, "Ed? Is that you?"

Ed heard himself let out a huge sigh of relief. "Yeah. Are you hurt?"

An uncertain, "I don't think so..." came. Then, "What happened?"

"The mine collapsed," he answered quickly and asked his question. "Do you see Sokka anywhere?"

A small mutter of, "I can't see anything," was the reply he received. She must have moved around a little more because Ed heard more rocks falling and rolling.

"Sokka?" Katara called. When no answer came, she called again, much louder, "Sokka!"

Just when she was about to panic, she heard a muffled, "Mmf ... five more minutes..." The sigh that came out of her mouth was both exasperated and relieved. He sounded like he was close by, which made Katara's uneasiness subside.

"Get up, Sokka. We've got a problem," She said.

"I didn't do it..." he moaned drowsily. "It was Momo, I swear..."

"Oh, just get up!" She fumed. She felt all around her until her hand touch something soft. She presumed it was his face and started slapping it repeatedly.

"Ow – _ow – ow – ow! _okay! Okay! I'm up!" He shuffled and squirmed around a bit and paused. "Okay, Katara, don't be alarmed or anything but ... I think I've gone blind."

This time, it was Edward who scowled, rolling his eyes. "You're not blind, you idiot. We're buried underneath the mine."

"Ed? Is that you? Or is that my subconscious? Am I dead?"

"You're about to be dead if you don't get up!" Katara threatened, pinching his face which got the response she was looking for.

Sokka yelped indignantly. He felt around him, feeling the rough rocks that surrounded him, and groaned. "What happened now?"

When Katara wasn't the one who answered, Ed knew that she was probably waiting for him to supply the answer since she didn't know what _exactly_ happened. He sighed, "Um, I think those red flying balloon things followed me here."

"Flying...? You mean the war balloons?" Katara asked.

Sokka, on the other hand, gawked. "Why the hell are Fire Nation war balloons following _you!?"_

"I don't know!" Ed immediately defended. "Zuko's crazy sister sent them after me for some reason!"

"_For some reason?_" Sokka repeated with a sarcastic snort. "Yeah, right. I think we all know you enough to know that when it comes to you, for some reason could only be a lot of stupid reasons."

"Oh, shut up," Ed grumbled over Sokka's snickering. "Anyways, this is perfect. Now those guys who hit us will probably think we're dead and go tell that crazy chick and she'll quit bothering us."

"Ah, not being attacked by Azula..." Sokka mused with a smile. "That sure sounds nice ... I'd like that."

"Then let's get out of here before we waste any more time and see if the others are okay," Katara determined. "Ed, can you get us out of here?"

Ed didn't answer right away, but she could hear him thinking out loud from wherever he was. She heard him mutter, "..without making it fall..." and "..no that'll just crush us..." and "...transmute them into one giant boulder..." before he snapped his fingers and said, "I got it! I'll decompose the rocks into dust."

"Sounds fun," Sokka commented.

"Close your eyes and mouths," Ed commanded, then clapped his hands and touched the rock that his head kept bumping into. Out of spite, he made sure that rock got the full blunt force of the transmutation.

The transmutation lights cackled excitedly, giving the crumbled cave brief lighting. For an instant, he saw Katara's and Sokka's faces before the shine died down and it rained buckets of dust and sand and_ sunlight and fresh air._

The three of them coughed when the dust settled and rubbed at their aggravated eyes. The sunlight shone down on them, compromising their vision for only a moment. Finally, after blinking several times, they marveled at the transmutation's result.

"Did I mention," Sokka began, licking his lips. "That I _love_ your alchemy?"

"You can stand to mention it a few more times," Ed sniffed with a smirk. He stood up and stretched his limbs, frowning when he realized that dust and sand probably seeped into his automail. "Alright, let's get out of here."

Katara followed his lead and stood up as well. She frowned at her brother, who was still laying on the floor. "Come on, Sokka, get up."

"Yeah, about that," Sokak began with a nervous chuckle. "You see that rock over there? Yeah, my leg is underneath it."

There was a high pitched gasp from Katara as she fell on her hands and knees near the rock, fluttering as she examined it. "Why didn't you say anything!?"

"I did now, didn't I?" Sokka huffed. "Besides, it doesn't hurt _that_ bad anymore."

"And you think that's a good thing?" She hissed. "Ed! Can you get rid of the rock?"

"On it," he complied, moving towards them and disintegrating the rock with the clap of his hands. When it revealed torn clothe and blood, he blanched at the injury on Sokka's leg. "It's not ... _that_ bad," He lied terribly.

"And now it's hurting again," Sokka hissed, gritting his teeth. He tried to sit up by pushing himself upright with his elbows but fell down when he put pressure on his foot. "Yeah, I can't get up." He raised a hand towards Ed and Katara and gasped, "Go on ... without ... me."

Ed and Katara looked at each other with blank faces before rolling their eyes at the same time. Ed grabbed Sokka's hand and pulled him up, "Let's go, drama queen." He deliberately ignored the insistent_ "ow! ow! ow! ow! ow!_" from Sokka and helped him over all the boulders and rocks that surrounded them, with Katara in tow. When they reached the top. Ed huffed at the sight of what used to be the mine, and the fact that they were on top of it.

"They really went ... all out," Katara murmured, surveying her surroundings. What used to be the mine was now rubble, and what used to be their hiding spot was now exploited. Perturbation crept along her spine and she shuddered. They were in the open now, and all the commotion must have caused quite a scene. Soon, those nosy villagers would gather and they would be forced to move to another location.

Sokka whistled, impressed. "Wow, Azula really has one hell of a grudge on you."

"Don't joke around, Sokka," his sister scolded. "This is serious. Do you see Aang and the others?" She bit her lip in agitation. With Toph and Aang with them, their half of the group should have been out of the cave by now with their earthbending. However, there was no one in sight.

Ed cleared his throat. "I don't see them, but I do see _that_." He pointed below, to where the trees were forming a forest. Sokka and Katara followed the imaginary line his finger was creating to the source: the war balloon that seated itself on the open space. Katara paled considerably. Those Fire Nation soldiers most definitely had landed to ensure that their assault was successful.

"Now would be a good time to get out of here," she said in a low voice. The soldiers could be anywhere. They had to be more cautious than ever now.

Slowly, she climbed down the rock hill makeshift, turning her head to make sure no one was around. She signaled for her two companions to follow. With several grunts from both, Ed carefully helped Sokka down while he hopped amusingly on one foot. Several times they both tripped, but eventually they made it down in one piece and stood beside Katara, who continued to scout around her.

Sokka sighed. "Now what - _mmf_!"

His words were cut off by a metal hand. Ed, with wide eyes, blew from his teeth as an indication to _shut up, you moron_! He pointed across from them, past a few short trees, to where two Fire Nation soldiers were standing, talking idly with each other. Sokka's eyes matched Ed's at the sight, and so did Katara's when she saw.

"What do we do?" She whispered as quietly as she could, her words coming out as breaths.

Edward pointed again, this time to the path behind the soldiers, that Katara recognized led to the village they were in earlier. She shook her head immediately at that idea.

"We can't just leave the others!" She exclaimed in a high whisper.

"We just need to get away from here. We don't know how many other soldiers are here, and we need to fix his leg," Ed said, gesturing to Sokka, who was now sitting on the rocks.

"I would like that very much," he piped.

Ed continued, "We can blend in with the villagers, and when the soldiers leave, we'll come back."

Katara bit her lip in obvious hesitation. Her eye darted from Ed to the rubble of the mine. "But what about them – they don't know where we went. What if they go looking for us and we get separated again?"

"They won't," Ed answered firmly. "Mustang would most likely convince them to stay put. By the time we leave from the village, I'm positive we'll find them here." And he was positive. Whenever he and the Colonel would go on field missions together, the man would always hammer on to him instructions that if they should ever get separated, he should stay where he was and not move so that Mustang could locate him easier (which obviously never happened, since Ed wasn't a goddamn kid who got lost easily).

Now that he thought about it though, Ed was actually doing the _opposite_ of what Mustang told him to do ... that made him smile.

"Are you sure?" Katara asked after a long pause.

"Positive," he repeated reassuringly. "Let's go before they see us."

He turned to Sokka and helped him up, wrapping the other boy's arm around his shoulder and pulling him up. When Sokka stood and put his weight on Ed's side, the blonde winced. "Shit - ow - ok, not that shoulder."

"You hurt your shoulder?" Katara asked, which was exactly the thing Ed didn't want her to ask or anyone else for that matter.

Wrapping his arm around Ed's other shoulder, Sokka teased, "Hurt again, Ed? Jeez, it's like you're doing it on purpose."

"Remember who's helping you here," Ed shot back.

"And I'm _ever_ so grateful. I've always wanted my very own talking crutch!"

"Sokka! Shut _up_," Katara hissed venomously, and when he did, Ed snickered at him.

"Let's get moving," she added, and took the lead.

Quietly, they made their way into the forest. They took extra precautions to make sure they didn't step on any dry leaves or twigs. They froze like squirrels when they heard voices conversing, making their hearts jump to their throat, but when the voices died down, they continued on.

Katara had noticed that Ed and Sokka were many steps behind her, which forced her to stop, wait for them to catch up, and resume walking. The cycle would repeat every two minutes, but she refused to complain since it was obvious they were struggling.

Almost every other step, a tiny "ow" would come from Sokka. After every step of that other step, an "ow" would come from Ed. If it wasn't for their terse situation, Katara would have found all of this highly amusing.

It was probably the thirteenth time she had to stop and wait for them that she achieved full frustration.

"Can't you guys at least _try_ to hurry up?"

"I would _love_ to," Ed bit out. "But your lazy ass brother is holding me back."

Sokka gawked. "Me?"

Katara cradled her forehead in exasperation.

"It's like I'm pulling five stacks of potatoes with one arm here! You could at least _try_ to move a little more instead of making me do all the work."

"I don't like your tone," Sokka admonished in a hurt voice. "I'm hopping on one leg like a freakin' monkeypigeon and all you do is complain. You don't hear me saying anything about how hard it is to move when the person who's holding you up is half your size."

_"WHO ARE YOU CALLI–" _

A hand slapped over his mouth and glaring blue eyes met his. "Both of you," Katara hissed poisonously. _"Shut. up." _

"He started it..." Ed mumbled when she released her grip on his mouth.

"I did _not_ –"

"I don't want to hear it!" She snapped quickly. She pointed ahead of her and commanded, "Walk."

They obeyed glumly. With them ahead of her, she looked behind. Good. No one was following them. They were finally leaving the outskirts of the forest. From a short distance she could spot some small houses. She quickened her pace, the boys trudging behind her.

They reached the village and it was bustling with people; more than it had when they last came. Katara blamed it on the time. Certainly there would be more people now, in the afternoon, than early in the morning. Which was necessarily not a good thing. More people meant more eyes. But the bright side was that it meant they could blend in with the crowd.

"Ok, let's find a place to hide out," Katara said. Hiding behind a house could work, as long as nobody was occupying the home. They wouldn't stay long, only a few minutes until she could heal Sokka's leg and Ed's shoulder.

"Wait." She stopped at Ed's voice and turned around. He wasn't looking at her. Instead, he was looking to the side. She followed his gaze. Behind some people, a Fire Nation soldier stood. His chin was tipped up, scouting the crowd with his eyes.

"How..." she breathed. "Did they follow us?"

"I think they were waiting for us here," Ed murmured. "They probably expected us to come here if anything..."

Sokka scowled. "Are we really _that_ predictable?"

"Come on," Katara said, pulling Ed's hand. "If we go deeper into the crowd, it'll be harder to spot us."

"Except it won't be since Ed's hair is as bright as the sun," Sokka snorted, then doubled over when Ed elbowed him.

They pushed their way into the dozens of people. There were little shops set around the area. Katara figured that this might be the village's square. Fruits and clothes and plates were being sold and people were gathering to buy.

They stopped in one particular spot; the people were pushing and shoving like crazy here. Katara looked over the dozens of heads too see if the soldier left. He didn't. In fact, there was another one not too far from her. And upon closer inspection, Katara noticed that he was walking towards her.

"Go, go, go," she gasped, pushing Sokka and Ed to walk. They moved without asking, and Katara kept looking back to the soldier to see if he was nearby. Her fears were correct – he _was_ following them. They were seen. They were found.

They squeezed their way past the crowd with no direction in mind. Katara could hear her heart beating loudly in her ears and wouldn't be surprised if the people around her could hear it too.

They were trying their best to cram themselves in between others, They found themselves in front of one little shop that had fruit stands in the front. The woman who was selling them smiled down at the three of them, to what she probably presumed were potential customers. "Can I help you?"

"No, thank you," Katara answered hastily, although her tone was still as polite as ever. She kept her eyes on the crowd, looking for the soldier, who was scanning around him, until he spotted Katara's blue eyes, and she jumped.

"I have more goods in my house, if you'd like," the woman suddenly said. With an odd look, Katara turned to look at her. The woman was smiling warmly at them. "Won't you come in and look around?"

Katara stuttered, confused at the question and what this woman was implying. Ed, however, didn't hesitate to give an answer.

"Sure."

Katara turned to him to silently scream with her wide eyes, _what do you think you're doing!?_ His golden eyes answered smoothly,_ trust me._

The woman turned to the old man in the shop with her and said, "Watch the shop for me?" The old man nodded and she walked around and came beside the three kids, gesturing them to follow her. Katara wanted to say something, because this all seemed a little sudden and odd, but that pestering soldier was closer than before, so all she could do was duck her head and walk faster.

They reached a house where the woman let them in wordlessly. Katara stopped at the door, apprehensive, but Ed didn't, and since he was practically half carrying her brother, she wasn't left with that many options and followed him in.

The house was warm and small. Tiny, in fact. Edward found a couch, dumped Sokka on it ungracefully, and turned to the woman without missing a beat. "Alright, lady, what's the big idea?"

Katara wanted to scold Ed on the spot for his insufferably rude behavior that rivaled Zuko's and Toph's, but she wanted to hear this woman's answer.

Locking her door, the woman turned to them with a kind smile and tired eyes. It was almost impossible to think that that face had any malicious intent, but Katara couldn't be sure.

"My, my, right to the point?" She chuckled softly, waving a hand. "I'm sorry to startle you like that, but you three seemed to be having some trouble, hm?"

"No, we weren't."

She cocked her head, "Oh?" On a small stand beside the door, she pulled open a drawer and rummaged through it. She found what she was looking for, a sheet of paper, and showed it to them, asking, "aren't you this boy right here?"

Katara gasped, more in anger than in shock. She took the paper from the woman, looked at it just to be sure, then turned to glare at the blonde boy. "Ed! Why is your picture on the "_Wanted_" poster?"

"I don't know!" Ed yelped, staring at the picture with an uncomfortable frown. Three other faces were on the poster as well - Zuko's, Aang's, and some masked person he'd never seen before. "That doesn't even look like me..." He finally grumbled.

"Ooh! Let me see! Let me see!" Sokka cried excitedly from the couch where he slouched like a pillow. Katara gave him the paper and Sokka howled in laughter. "Oh, man! This is priceless! Look at the way they drew your nose! Ha!"

"...s-shut up!" Ed flushed, crossing his arms.

Deciding that she'll just have to question Edward about this later, Katara turned to the woman, who was watching the exchange with some amusement. Softly, Katara asked, "Are you going to turn us in, now that you know?"

Ed and Sokka turned, ears curious to hear her answer.

"Now, why would I do that?"

"Why _wouldn't_ you do that?" Ed countered. He snatched the poster from Sokka. "They're giving out a pretty hefty reward for my capture, and from the looks of it, you could use a bigger house. There's a Fire Nation soldier outside right now. What's stopping you from calling him over and handing us in?"

"I guess you could say I have a soft spot for children." She shrugged delicately. There was something about this woman that was just ... odd. Not odd in an unusual way, just odd as in different. Whatever it was, Edward couldn't place it. There was nothing special about her physically - small, brown eyes, straight black hair, a face that looked neither young or old. The atmosphere she gave off was very sincere and bright, even in the dark house.

Seeing how Ed's doubtful eyes have yet to fully believe her, she said, "Well, to put it rather simply, I saw that you three were in trouble, and I felt as though I should help you since I had the resources."

"Resources?"

"This house," she answered. "You can hide out here until the soldiers take their leave. Then, you can be on your way."

"What's in it for you?" Ed asked.

"Nothing. Why should I expect anything in return?"

He pursed his lips, then bit them. "So you're telling us to trust you simply because you're a good person?"

"Well, when you put it that way." She nodded, "Yes." She stole a glance out the window then back at them. "Look," she began. "Fire Nation soldiers don't have as much mercy against children as you think, especially when they consider them traitors, and I'd hate to let that happen when I know I can stop it. You can think about it, but in the meantime, the soldiers are still looking for you out there, am I right?"

She turned to her door and turned the knob. "I'll leave you to your business, while I attend to my own. Stay or go, that's your decision, but I must insist you stay." She opened the door and shut it quietly behind her, leaving them to their own.

Edward didn't even have time to mull over what just conspired before Katara promptly snatched the poster from his hand and smacked him across the head with it.

"What the hell was that for?" He yelped.

"For being _intolerably_ rude!" She snapped.

"I wasn't being rude. I was just asking questions!"

"Rude questions!" She huffed, "You need to learn some manners."

At that, Sokka burst into a fit of laughter. Ed frowned and tried his hardest not to make it look like he was pouting, to no avail.

Katara's head snapped to Sokka's direction with strict eyes. "You," she said. "Don't laugh. You're not any better. Now show me your leg."

He stifled his laughs when she came over to him. He pulled his pants sleeve up and showed her his wound. She scowled, "You just _had_ to get hurt, didn't you? You just _had_ to."

"It's not like I did it on purpose!" He defended meekly. "And besides – _ Ow! Ow! Ow!_ Easy, that hurts!" He pushed her away when she tried to poke it again. "Mean!"

"Stop being a baby," Ed admonished with a smug look on his face. Sokka glared at him heatedly but that was all he could muster up in his position.

"_Both_ of you stop acting like babies!" The last of her patience wore off at their childish antics. Katara heaved a rumbling sigh. "Ed, go get me some water."

Complying, Ed left that small room in search of a sink. He heard Katara shout to him, "And don't think you're off the hook, either! I'm looking at your shoulder next!" He hung his head in defeat.

.

* * *

.

When Mustang opened his eyes and saw darkness, his mind went to work right away. He couldn't see, therefore one of three things might have happened; He was either blindfolded, blind, or in a very, _very_ dark room. Feeling how awkward his body lay and how uncomfortable he was feeling, he ruled out all three options. He was being compressed – by something ragged and solid.

The previous events crashed into his mind and he let out a groan of remembrance. Oh._ That's_ what happened.

So the mine collapsed on them. Wonderful, he thought with an annoyed frown. He heard multiple other groans of displeasure and remembered that the others were here and he finally snapped into attention and took the initiative.

"Is everyone okay?" He barked loudly. The response he received was more groans. Roy rolled his eyes.

"Toph?" He called.

"I'm fine."

"Iroh?"

"Yes, yes, I'm not hurt."

"Aang?"

"I'm okay!"

"Zuko?"

"Fine."

The Colonel sighed. "Good."

"Ugh. What happened?" He recognized it as Toph's voice.

"We were attacked."

"Yeah, I figured _that_ much, genius," she bit back sarcastically.

Zuko answered for her instead, "we were attacked from the air – a war balloon shot down on us."

"Well that makes sense," Toph said after a moment. For Mustang, however, it didn't make any sense, but he left it be.

"But wait," Aang said. Judging from the proximity of his voice, Mustang figured that Aang must have been pretty close by to him. "How did they find us? We were being extra careful!"

"One person wasn't," Mustang sighed. If he could move his arms, he would be cradling his head in embarrassment.

"Ed...?" Zuko mumbled.

Roy nodded even though he knew nobody could see him. "Yes. He has a tendency to … attract attention."

"Tell me about it," Toph muttered. "This reeks of Azula's doing, though."

"She does hold on to her grudges," Iroh said.

"That's an understatement," Zuko muttered.

Mustang groaned inwardly. He knew Fullmetal probably didn't do it on purpose –_ probably_ – but it was still his doing. He had a strong disposition of starting problems with the wrong kinds of people. The Colonel was definitely going to give him one hell of an earful when he got his hands on him.

Fullmetal was in the cave when it collapsed, so he must be deeper inside. A small part of him cringed in worry at the thought of Edward being injured, or worse. But the larger part of him knew that something as minimal as this wouldn't be able to take him down. Either way, Mustang needed to get out to be sure.

"First things first; we need to get out of here." Mustang squirmed where he lay, trying at least to free his hands. He turned his head, to where he figured Aang must have been. "Aang. You can earthbend, correct?" The boy was the Avatar, so he was supposed to know how to bend all the elements, if Mustang remembered correctly.

"Um, yeah." There was movement behind him, to which Mustang figured it was him attempting to sit up. "I'm pretty stuck actually, sorry. I can't get up."

"I don't think we should get out now, anyways," Toph announced. "There are three people standing outside the mine." The sound of flesh smacking rock echoed inside. "Whoops, nevermind. There's four."

"How can you tell?" Mustang blurted. He was positive that girl was blind. He was _positive_. Plus, there's no way she can tell who was outside when he himself couldn't even see _inside_.

He heard Toph mutter under her breathe. "Do I have to explain it to you now? Jeez," she sighed irritably. "I'm an earthbender – I use the vibrations to feel around and see. Get it?"

No, he really didn't get it with that bland explanation, but he was able to piece it together by himself. Just like how a bat sees by screeching and using the echoes, Toph uses the vibrations to see. So that's what that sound of flesh against rock was. She was probably smacking the rock and following the vibrations to see outside.

"Can you see if Katara and the others are okay?" Aang asked, stealing the words right out of Mustang's head.

"There's no one else here besides us," she answered. "Except those four people, which are definitely not them."

Iroh spoke up, "Those are probably the same soldiers that attacked us. Perhaps scouting the area to see if they have completed their task."

"Then if Katara, Sokka and Ed aren't here, where are they?" Aang's worried voice spoke up.

"They left," Zuko answered, as if it were obvious. "They couldn't tell that the soldiers were outside, and I doubt they like staying down here. I'm sure they left when they had the chance."

That made sense, Mustang mused. Ed could have easily gotten out of the rubble with his alchemy, and when he did, he probably saw the soldiers and took off. That would have been the smart thing to do, but Mustang still felt that headache come along whenever he was annoyed. He'd told Fullmetal _hundreds_ of times that if they were ever separated that he should_ stay put_. A part of him wasn't surprised. This was Fullmetal he was talking about; the infamous brat that never listened to directions.

"So what do we do now?" Aang asked meekly. By the tone of his voice, Roy could tell he was more worried for the others than for himself.

"We wait. Until those soldiers are gone." He added, "I hope you all are comfortable because I have a feeling this might take a while."

.

* * *

.

It was awkward for them to stay in a stranger's house when that said stranger wasn't home. They wanted to leave, because it reached the point where they felt like they were imposing, but they couldn't. Every few minutes, Katara would glance out the window, and every time, she would spot the soldiers walking around.

She huffed and closed the window's curtains for what seemed to be the hundredth time. Sokka was slouched lazily on the couch with his freshly healed leg while Ed paced across the room impatiently.

He looked to Katara, "Well?"

She shook her head. "They're still out there."

He groaned loudly, throwing his hands up, and resumed his pacing. "This is stupid. How long do we have to stay in here?"

"You're the one who wanted to come here," Sokka commented.

"Well, it was either this or let those bastards take us!"

"If you're so bored," Katara began. "Why don't you let me heal your shoulder?"

"I told you, it's _fine."_

Katara highly doubted that. He refused to let her get close to his shoulder when she finished with Sokka's leg. He insisted he was _fine, _but she doubted that. He's been saying that a lot lately, and she was sure she had skewered the meaning of the word _fine._

"At least tell me _how _you got hurt so I'll believe you," she settled with.

Ed scowled, but the way her strict eyes bore into his soul was hard to ignore. "It's nothing. I just got hurt when I was trying to get away from Zuko's sister. That's all."

She raised a brow. "Go on."

"She managed to him me, okay?"

She raised the second brow.

"With her … lightning."

Luckily, he was prepared for her explosion and winced beforehand. His ears, however, were not so lucky.

"_You got hit with her lightning and didn't even tell anyone? Are you out of your mind? Do you even understand how dangerous that is? It could be infected! It could have fried your nerves! And you called that nothing? You're worse than Sokka!"_

"Don't compare me with Sokka..." Ed moaned.

"You should be honored," the other boy huffed.

"Come here," Katara demanded. "Now."

"I told you, it's nothing! I'm _fine!"_

His stubbornness was one for the record books, and it even rivaled Toph's. However, Katara refused to be beat by his reluctance. If he wanted to act like a child, then she will treat him like one. "Well, then I guess I'll just tell Mustang about it. He did tell us to tell him everything that's happened, especially when it comes to _you"_

The blanch from Ed was exactly the reaction she was looking for. "Oh, don't tell that bastard – he'll never leave me alone about it!"

"Then _come_ _here_."

With a roll of his eyes, he deflated in defeat and trudged forward. She forced him to sit and take off his coat, and when she saw the burn, she promptly whacked him across the head.

"Ed! This is _terrible!"_

"And smacking me is going to make it _better_?"

"You idiot!" She groaned, shaking her head. Pulling the water from the bowl beside her, she set it on his shoulder and clicked her tongue at his pained hiss. "You deserve it," she said.

"Geez, and I thought you were the nice one," he mumbled. Sokka snorted.

She ignored the both of them. "If you would have told me earlier, it wouldn't have gotten as bad as this. It's going to take up so much time just healing the tissue."

_So much time _was much longer than Ed had expected. His back was starting to ache in discomfort in the awkward way he was sitting up. An hour might have passed, he wasn't sure, but it was long enough for the sky to darken. While Katara was healing his shoulder, Sokka took the post of watching for the soldiers who were _still out there._

The sound of the front door opening startled Ed, making him jump to his feet and losing Katara's concentration. They all froze when the door closed. It was the woman, and they were allowed a brief moment to relax.

"Ah, you're still here," she said happily.

Ed quickly pulled on his coat, covering his automail, and unheeded of Katara's muttering, "I wasn't done yet..."

"I was worried you might have left," the woman continued. "Those soldiers are now asking around if anyone's seen you." She was obviously implying Edward, but he didn't say anything.

"Are you all hungry?" She went on.

"I am," Sokka piqued, standing up and stretching. "Actually, I'm _starving." _Katara smacked her forehead at her brother's indecency.

The woman, however, looked thrilled to serve them, and did so with a smile. As much as Ed didn't want to show it, he was honestly famished. The sight of the steaming food on the table made him lightheaded.

Sokka practically swallowed everything edible on the table while Katara idly chatted with the woman. It was relaxing to eat at a dinner table and forget about their worries, if only for a moment. After eating, Katara helped clean up while Ed went to the window to check – only to be further disappointed that those soldiers were _still _there.

The woman suggested that they rest up, since they all looked worn out. Of course, they turned down that offer, but she insisted. She showed Katara the guest bedroom, while Ed and Sokka had to battle it out for the couch with a game of 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' in which Edward ultimately lost and was rewarded with a blanket, a pillow, and the floor.

Ed had felt bad about sleeping while Mustang and the others were probably stuck underground in that mine, but he was _tired _and it was affecting his _thinking, _which was his most prized asset. With his mind replenished from a short nap, he'll be able to come up with some way to help them. _After_ he rests. So he settled himself on his pillow and closed his eyes.

.

* * *

.

It felt like hours that they had waited, and it probably was, but Mustang couldn't tell. At one point, Toph had announced that two of the four soldiers had took off. A debate on whether they should leave or not took place inside, which quickly became heated and ridiculous.

Mustang was obviously the logical one that said they should wait because even though they outnumber them, the amount of time it takes for them to get out of the cave would equal the same amount of time it took for the soldiers to attack them or call back their partners and attack them all at once.

To which Toph replied: "Don't be a wuss. I can take them on, no problem."

So Roy responded with: "I'm being _rational _here. They'll burn us alive before we even step out."

"They'll burn _you _alive, old man, but not me. I can handle them."

"Old man? I am anything but!"

"Let's take a vote then. All in favor of staying put say aye."

"Aye," Mustang said.

"Aye," Iroh chanted.

"Alright that's two. All in favor of going out and kicking some ass say aye. Aye."

"Aye," Zuko said.

"Another two...wait - Twinkletoes!" Toph barked. "You didn't vote!"

"I'm, um, undecided...?"

"Well decide now! We need your vote!"

"I don't know! On one hand, I want to go out and make sure that the others are safe and get out of here, but on the other hand, Mustang does have a point."

"There is no in between, Aang!"

"Don't listen to her Aang. I know you'll choose what's right." Mustang said soothingly.

"Don't sway him into your direction with your _words_."

"Remember Aang. Your choice will ultimately lead to our safety, or destruction. So choose the one that won't get us killed."

"Now you're just pressuring him too much! Listen, Aang. If you don't vote to go outside, I will _personally _make you reconsider your choice."

"Threatening him? _Really_?"

"I'm not threatening him. Am I threatening you, Twinkletoes?"

"U-Um, ah, um... Zuko?"

"Don't drag me into this. I cast my vote already."

"Make up your mind, baldy!"

And quickly, the argument escalated into mindless shouting, which was to be expected when an argument involved Toph. Zuko and Iroh stayed in the sidelines, watching - or rather, _hearing _- the debate and chose not to get involved. After a few minutes, Toph abruptly told everyone to shut up, and that someone was approaching the mine. High hopes of that person either being Katara, Sokka or Ed were quickly shot down when Toph whispered that it was one of the soldiers.

He approached the cave, walked around it for a few minutes, and then returned to his post beside his partner. Everyone held their breaths to try and hear if they would say anything important, but were only rewarded with silence. Minutes ticked by quietly as no one said a word. Then Mustang whispered loud enough for Toph to hear; "I win."

.

* * *

.

He peeled his groggy lids apart slowly when he awoke and wanted to groan out loud. Honestly, Ed wasn't that surprised that he wasn't able to sleep through the whole night, and judging by the the obscene darkness surrounding him, he wasn't even able to sleep a third of the night. He wanted to blame it on Sokka's abnormally loud snores, but he knew better.

He sighed when he sat up, stretching and wincing at the soreness of his automail arm with a lazy yawn. Scratching his eyes, he stood up and walked towards the room that was dimly lit and found the woman standing by the counter. Ed suddenly realized that he didn't know her name, but decided not pursue that mystery.

She saw Ed by the door and smiled warmly. "Couldn't sleep?"

He shrugged and sat down at the table with another yawn. He was still tired and he knew that if he put his head down on the pillow again and closed his eyes, he would fall asleep instantly. The problem was that those pesky nightmares would just wake him up all over again.

"Tea?" She asked him and he mumbled a idle, "sure". From behind him, he could hear Sokka's loud snores from the other room and wondered how the rest of that group was able to put up with that. It sounded like an elephant being strangled to death.

A steaming cup was set in front of him and the woman took a seat in the chair across from him with her own cup. Ed stared at his tea and deflated at the warm aroma it gave off. He hadn't realized how incredibly hungry he was until now. That food from earlier barely filled him up, and he wasn't about to trouble this woman into making him something. He yawned again before taking a sip of the hot drink.

"If you're still tired, you should go back to sleep," she offered.

"I'd just wake up again."

She frowned sympathetically. "Why's that? Do you have trouble sleeping?"

He took a longer sip from his drink to avoid the question. "This is good tea."

"I'm glad you like it." She chuckled. "You're probably the first one who's tried it."

"You live alone?"

"Yes."

"Then why do you have an extra room?" Ed asked curiously. It was odd to have a guest room and not expect any guests.

"Oh, That's for my kids; my son and daughter." She said, waving a hand. "Just in case they stop by."

"Are they married or something?"

"No, no. They're about your age, actually. Maybe older. I haven't seen them for quite while."

He knew he was being nosy but he still asked regardless, "Why's that?"

"Ah," She sighed and rested her chin on her prompted hand. "Problems at home, I suppose you can call it. When they were young, I had to leave them with their father because of a rather … complicated situation. I haven't seen them since." She took a sip from her tea with a faraway look in her eyes. "I'm hoping they might stumble upon my shop, like you three did, so I can see them again."

Ed's brow furrowed at the unusual answer she gave him. "Do they know you work here?"

"I highly doubt it," She laughed, although he didn't see what was so funny about that. "I had to leave all of a sudden, so they didn't see me off. I'm not allowed to see them. My husband probably told them I died or something." Again, she chuckled lightly. "He could be quite dramatic."

"But … you're not dead. You're alive – you should go back home and tell them you're still alive."

She shook her head. "It's much more difficult then that..."

"Bullshit," Ed blurted. "That's no excuse. You have to go back. You can't just..." He bit his lip and looked away. In a quiet mumble, he said, "To know that your mother is dead is the _worst _kind of feeling."

He knew she was staring at her sympathetically, but he refused to meet her pitiful eyes. Instead, he stared down at his tea with a frown. An awful silence floated in the room. Finally, the woman said with a soft voice, "Your mother...?"

"Died when I was little," he muttered. "Epidemic. Left me and my little brother to ourselves."

"You poor things," she breathed quietly. "What about your father?"

Ed scowled harshly. "That bastard? He lost that title when he walked out on us before she died - didn't even have the fucking decency to come to her funeral."

"That's horrible..."

"Exactly," Ed exclaimed. "Which is exactly why you should go back to _your _family instead of staying in this backwater village."

"There's nothing I can do..." She with a heavy, sad sigh, she said, "This was my fate"

Ed snorted a sarcastic, "_fate_." He shook his head. "That's just an overused self-justification of selfishness when you don't want to get something done yourself."

"You don't understand." She said with a weak smile.

"Sure, I don't understand the circumstances surrounding _you_, but I sure as hell understand what your kids are going through." Ed pursed his lips, staring at her with his piercing, gold eyes. "I would give _anything_ to get my mother back, but I can't. But your kids – they still have their mom, they just don't know it. Making them go through all that is just … _awful_."

She nodded, agreeing, but didn't say anything about the subject except a small, "I wish it was that easy..."

"Yeah, well, wishing won't get you anywhere." Ed muttered grimly, sipping his tea only to realize it was empty. She got up to get him more, but he refused and settled back to his makeshift bed while she returned to hers in the other room to resume their sleep.

Sinking down to the blankets and resting his cheek on his pillow, Ed crinkled his nose at the quietness and muttered, "I know you're awake."

At first it was quiet."...yeah, well. You're pretty loud," came Sokka's drowsy response before Ed smacked him with his pillow.

.

* * *

.

After the conversation with Edward, the woman went to her bed to sleep. She woke up a an hour later, way past midnight, and found that all the children had left. On the couch, there was a scribbled note that read:

_" thanks for the hospitality_

_sorry for the trouble "_

She could tell that it was from the blonde boy. It was brief and to the point, and that made her shake her head fondly. She tucked the note in her drawer and began her day with a permanent smile on her face.

.

* * *

.

They left the house as quietly as possible. This time, Ed transmuted a hood to his coat after Katara's insistence His hair gave them away too easily. Covering it up should give them an advantage. Katara also insisted that he change the color of his coat - the red was just too obnoxiously loud. To that, Ed replied, "Over my dead body!"

They tried to retrace their steps back to the mine, which they found to be more difficult than they expected. All the paths looked the same. Each direction they turned looked the same. It was five minutes later when Sokka started complaining about being lost, and ten minutes later Ed joined him. After fifteen minutes, Katara wanted to pull her hair out of her scalp.

It was still dark out, but the sun was slowly raising. It was the perfect time to head out; nobody would be walking around in the dead of dawn.

Katara recognized a trail while they climbed a steep road and blew out a relieved breathe. They were going the right way. Walking a few more yards, they found the dismantled mess of what used to be the mine. They approached it carefully. With a confused look, they noticed that none of the soldiers were around.

"Katara!"

The girl jumped at hearing her name being called. But the surprise subsided when she recognized the voice to be Aang's; the surprise turned to excitement. She turned around and there he was, sitting on a large rock with Iroh, Toph, Zuko and Mustang beside him. The war balloon was nowhere in sight, and neither were the soldiers. Her first guess was that they left, and she hoped her presumption was right.

She let out a shaky sigh of relief at the sight of her friends, making her way over to them. "Oh thank goodness. You're all alright."

"Where have you been?" Mustang asked immediately upon standing up. His question was directed to all of them but his gaze was aimed at Ed.

The boy scowled at the look. "Before you say anything, this was _not_ my fault."

"I find that hard to believe," came Mustang's lazy drawl.

"Me too," Toph said.

"Same," Zuko grunted.

Ed fumed but was quieted when Mustang pounced on him with a chide. "Fullmetal, do you remember what I told you - _repeatedly_ - to do if we ever got separated?"

Ed looked away. Katara wanted to laugh. It was like watching a father lecture his son, plus Ed's face was _golden_.

"Fullmetal..." Mustang pressed.

"...to stay put," Ed mumbled irritably.

"Hm?"

"To stay put!" He said louder.

"And did you?'

"No," He scowled. "But I had a good reason to, too!"

"He really did," Katara said, stepping up to his defense. "Sokka hurt his leg and we needed to get him out to heal it."

Aang frowned. "You should have let us know somehow," he said. "We were waiting for _hours_, worried sick."

"I know; I'm sorry."

"Regardless," the Colonel began. "We can't afford to be separated again. We also can't afford to stay here any longer."

"My thoughts exactly," Iroh agreed. "And I know the perfect place to go."

Zuko must have understood the underlying message of his statement. His eyes flared in recognition. "The beach house?"

"The beach house," the General confirmed with a smile. "It would be nice to relax by the beach, don't you agree?"

"Wherever is fine. As long as it's away from here." Toph said with a huff. "Let's just find Appa and leave."

All the children nodded, the same thought floating around their heads as well. They didn't like this village to begin with. It was probably either due to the fact that it was a Fire Nation Village or because the people here were just disturbing, but either way, it was making them all uncomfortable simply staying here.

While they all began walking through the forest once again, Mustang pulled Edward aside, making them walk a few paces behind the rest of the group. Katara noticed this, but didn't say anything, allowing them their privacy. They stayed far behind enough so that nobody could hear what they were saying. Ed didn't object - he knew that inevitably the Colonel would want to speak to him - regardless, he still shrugged off the man's grasp.

"Are you ok?" Was the first thing that he asked. Ed found it odd that Mustang chose to ask that the one time they were finally alone and allowed the privacy to speak discreetly.

"Fine." Which was a blatant lie and he was sure Mustang could hear the untruthfulness in it. Of course he wasn't ok. Why would he be okay? He felt like his head was about to burst into hundreds of sharp shards.

The Colonel looked down on him, his brows dipping slightly enough to show doubt. At that, Ed turned his head away, refusing to look at those eyes. "Why are you even asking?" Ed snapped.

"Is there a reason I shouldn't?"

That patronizing tone infuriated him. "Because you know the answer, already, bastard."

"Fullmetal, please..." the sigh came out as exasperated.

"Don't even!" Ed snapped. Mustang narrowed his eyes at Ed's volume, so he lowered it as he continued. "There was a reason why I didn't want to stay with them, and you know what it is, and you're still making me stay! Why the hell should I be ok with that?"

"Think rationally for a moment," the Colonel said calmly. "Our best advantage would be staying with them. They know where they're going, and we don't. In addition, they're kind enough to let us follow them around. If we set out on our own, we'd be dead in a minute. Did you forget about the war?"

"No, _you_ think rationally!" Ed hissed. He pointed to Aang's back and whispered harshly, "That kid is going to kill me any minute, and if he doesn't, this fucking headache will!"

"No one is going to kill you unless you give them a reason, too."

"Easy for you to say."

Mustang ran a hand through his hair tiredly. "I know that you being here is causing you plenty of stress and discomfort, but for the time being, I need you to endure it long enough for us to go back."

"Endure it," Ed snorted, crossing his arms. "Don't you get it, Colonel? This isn't some normal shit that's happening!"

"Language," he reprimanded. "And no, I don't get it. But General Iroh seems to have a basic idea of what it might be."

"Who, the old geezer?"

A nod. "He thinks it might be something spiritual, from this world."

"If it's spiritual from this world, then what the hell is it in our world?" Ed asked. "There is nothing spiritual in our side, remember?"

"It's just a theory, but it might have to do with our alchemy, since that seems to be the only mystical aspect our world provides."

Ed stilled, but then recomposed himself with a frown, "Then why aren't you affected?"

A pause. "I don't know."

"Does the old man know?"

"No."

"Does he know how to stop it?"

Another pause. "No."

"Well, that's just _wonderful_," Ed sneered to the ground.

Mustang didn't comment, since he had the same general idea but decided not to voice it. He understood Edward's displeasure, but he could clearly tell that Fullmetal was suffering more. However, there was something else Roy saw. When he stated that he wasn't affected by the sensation that Aang emitted, something flashed in Ed's eyes. Roy couldn't identify the emotion right away but he was able to deduce that Ed knew something.

Mustang's exhaustion, however, prevented him from pursuing it further. It was evident in his face, too, just how tired he was. The sagging bags underneath his eyes and pale features gave away his weariness. He was surprised his legs were still carrying him.

He caught Ed looking at him with an apprehensive glace. Mustang smirked. "Can't keep your eyes off of me, Fullmetal?" He teased.

"S-Shut up!" Ed flushed, looking away – the exact reaction Mustang predicted. "I just don't want you falling over and making me carry your fat ass all the way back."

"How sweet."

"Shut up! I'm not being sweet!"

Mustang laughed, which made the kid fluster even more. They quickened their pace so that they were on par with the rest of the group. Nobody said anything about their slight absence, to which Mustang was grateful for.

The sun was finally beginning to show, and he couldn't help but think with a worried grimace about how everyone back in Amestris was handling things. But one glance at Ed, who purposely made sure he wasn't too close to Aang, told him that he had more important things to take care of.

.

* * *

.

Her knee was propped against the warm floor as one fist lay adjacent to it, her head bowed in deep respect as she waited for her father to acknowledge her before she would be allowed to look up.

" Rise." The drawl came out lengthy and punctual. Ozai, sitting in his defined throne that allowed him to literally and figuratively look down on whoever requested to speak to him, watched his daughter with a critical eye. The ceremonial fire that flared around them flickered mellowly, giving the room an atrocious feel.

Azula looked up, purposely tilting the side of her head away from her father to avoid sight of that horrendous mark on her face, left no room for pleasantries.

"Father, I don't understand why you called me over – I have important matters to attend to and you're preventing me from accomplishing them!"

Her tone was a normal occurrence, but the Firelord noticed that it was well more characterized this time. "Three war balloons were sent out on orders from you." His elbow propped on the armrest of the chair, he tapped his chin and said darkly, "I sent you to retrieve the Avatar and your brother in assumption that you can handle it _yourself_."

"I'm aware of that, Father."

"And yet you go behind my back and take the limited resources that we have for the invasion in a few days for what? Nonsense is what it seems to me. "

Her teeth grit. "I am aware of that, Father."

"Your behavior is becoming questionable, Azula." Ozai grunted with a glare, "If you continue to act like an obnoxious child, I _will_ treat you as one."

"You don't understand, Father," the girl belted. The glare he sent her way made her mouth run dry and she recomposed herself before speaking again. She looked up at her father, straight in his eyes, and said, "I … apologize for not informing you about using the war balloons, however, I can assure you it was for a valid reason!"

A brow raised, Ozai let out a curious, "Oh?"

"There's this boy," Azula began with a growl. "With _absurd_ bending powers."

He didn't say anything but his eyes prompted her to continue as he listened with mild interest.

"I can't explain it, but – I swear to you, he bent water and earth at the _same_ time. He even bent the bark of a tree."

"What is this foolishness–"

"It's true," she insisted angrily with tights fists. "I saw it with my own eyes and I would never lie to you about such things!"

A lapse of silence strung along. The fire around them danced excitedly as Ozai looked down at his daughter with calculating eyes. Brow furrowed, he asked slowly, "Are you telling me that there is another person out there that has the same abilities as the Avatar?"

Lips pursed, she answered firmly, "yes."

"Is he the one who did that to you?"

She turned her head away quickly, knowing precisely that her father was asking about that insufferable cut on her cheek that was caking over. Tightly, she bit out an obedient, "yes."

"Why is it that I am only hearing about this now?" Ozai asked, mostly out loud and not to Azula directly. But overhearing, she answered, "The Avatar and those other brats seemed to have just discovered him recently, as well."

"The Avatar already came in contact with him," the man muttered.

With a grim nod, Azula continued, "I'm pretty sure that he's with them now. An innkeeper that housed him overheard what they were saying and directed it to me. He should be traveling with them by now, along with another one."

"So he _insists_ on becoming a threat..." he trailed off.

"Now you see, Father," Azula said with a satisfied smirk. "I was in pursue of him before you demanded my presence. That rat already destroyed two of your war balloons, and the third is chasing him as we speak."

"Two?" Ozai repeated angrily. "The ingrate!"

"But I'll dispose of him, Father. I'll get rid of him and the Avatar."

"What's his purpose?" He asked. "What does he want? Does he insist on becoming a hindrance?"

"The innkeeper – she overheard his conversations and told me. He plans to come here, Father," she said with a vicious grin. "He wants the steal your Phoenixdragon blood."

Ozai paused. "The blood?" His expression darkened. "What purpose does he have with it?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but acquiring it seems to be his objective."

"How does he know about that?"

"Zuko." She answered simply, and Ozai frowned deeply.

"Not only does he betray his country, but his own _bloodline_ as well." He sneered. "Disgusting."

The man stood up from his chair and stepped down. "Only a few days left before I clean this world," he began, each step echoing loudly in the spacious room. "And already new problems are showing themselves." He made his way to Azula and glanced at her, "However, this rodent you speak of intrigues me. To think he can come to _my_ territory and take _my_ possessions." He stopped, and folded his hands behind his back. "What more do you know about him?"

Azula merely grinned.

* * *

**Author's note 2/20/13**: Haha I just realized I gave Ed one of Toph's lines from the series. If you figured out which one, you are awesome! Also, thank you everyone who reviewed/faved/alerted this story! I seriously can't believe the response it got! Thank you again! You're all wonderful!

**Next Chapter: **_The Dragon that fell in love with the Phoenix_

_- _**_Their one day of granted relaxation ends with agitation and turmoil. The peaks have been hit._  
**

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Reviews are greatly appreciated!


	8. The Dragon and Phoenix Fall in Love

**Intersecting Points**

* * *

**Part II - 3**

* * *

_The Dragon that fell in love with the Phoenix_

* * *

/ "_There's always room for a story that can transport people to another place."_ /

* * *

Katara didn't want to laugh. She really didn't. She knew it would be rude to laugh at someone else's misery - distress - confusion - whatever it was these two were feeling. But it was so _hard _because it was so _funny. _

From all the years she had been travelling with Aang, never, had she once, seen the response to Appa like the one coming from Ed and Mustang - _especially _Ed.

They were walking towards where they had left Appa and Momo to hide, deep in the greens of the forest, beneath the shrubs and the trees. When the flying bison crawled out at the call of his name, a loud _"Holy shit!" _was heard from behind her and she didn't even have to think about it to know it was Edward.

She half expected Mustang to rebuke him for his foul language like he always did, but when she turned around to look at both of them, she found that the older man's facial expression matched Edward's _perfectly. _Mouth agape, eyes wide, pale face.

She really tried not to laugh.

Edward was spewing some nonsense about '_the biggest chimera he'd ever seen' _as he circled the large animal, poking at its extra limbs, pulling at its fur, lifting its tail. When Appa himself grew agitated at the intimate attention, he growled annoyingly at the blonde, and Ed jumped and scrambled away.

She really _really _tried not to laugh.

It was a show, really. Watching these two's reactions. Mustang, picking at Momo's wings and ears. Edward, cautiously approaching Appa because his curiosity paid no mind to danger. It was truly amusing.

Then Ed noticed the large saddle on Appa's back. "You guys _ride _this thing?"

And when Sokka smirked with that sly intention of his, because he definitely had the same idea as everyone else, she had to cover her mouth because the laugh was _fighting _to come out - but, no. She couldn't. That would be rude.

So they all climbed onto the flying bison, Mustang's and Ed's steps slow and cautious. Appa had buckled slightly at the extra weight, but with Aang's comforting pats and soft words, he smacked his large tail to the ground and took off to the sky.

_"WHAT THE SHIT!?"_

Then, at that moment, Katara couldn't help it - she couldn't contain herself; she burst out laughing, clutching her waist and her brother's arm, holding herself up because she knew that she would be rolling on the floor laughing if she didn't support herself up.

"This isn't possible — how is this possible? What the _hell_? How could something this big fly? With its mass and lack of wings — no, no. I refuse to believe this! Bullshit!"

His rant continued on for a good twenty minutes, Katara counted because that was also how long she had been laughing. Sokka was crying. Tears were streaming down his flustered face. His laughing became wheezing and Katara worried he might affixciate.

"How..." It was the first time she heard Mustang speak since they boarded the flying bison. He seemed much more calm than Edward, but widened eyes seethed with apprehension. "How is it able to fly, exactly?"

Aang had answered him, turning around to face the older man. Aang always seemed to enjoy talking about his heritage and culture, so he was delighted to answer. "He's a master air bender. Flying bisons are the original air benders — just like how we can bend air, so can he, with his tail."

Mustang hummed, "interesting" the same time Ed exclaimed, "But that's impossible!"

Aang shrugged, casually throwing out, "Your alchemy is impossible in our world."

"No, that's not what I mean. It's impossible — scientifically impossible." He was met with empty stares. "Physics — gravity? Does that not factor in your world at all?"

Toph nonchalantly coughed, "nerd" while Katara looked at him puzzlingly, with a tilt of her head, "What does physics have to do with bending?"

"Uh, everything?" He sputtered disbelievingly at his audience. Their blank expressions made him blink, waiting for a response. He huffed, "The hell do they teach you in school?"

"History," Zuko answered.

"Proper etiquette," Toph scowled.

"Survival skills and combat," answered Sokka with a proud grin.

"Bending," Katara shrugged.

"What about math? Science? Grammar?" Ed asked. "Mainly science?"

"They teach us the basics of that," Katara answered. "But, you know, not in depth."

Iroh nodded, and raised his hand slightly as he spoke, like a teacher slowly breaking down the basic fundamentals of the lesson. "You must understand that we are at war. The children, as horrible as it might sound, are valuable resources. We only teach them what can later on benefit us in the war. When it comes down to intelligence versus brute strength, the latter is the more appealing choice."

Ed sputtered but Mustang understood. He remembered his time in Ishval. He remembered how desperate the Ishvalians became, that they began arming their children with weapons and sending them out to the battlefield. Science and math and grammar was of no use to them if it couldn't help them kill faster, end the war quicker.

The situation here was all the same — but he felt as if he were on the opposite side. That the Fire Nation was Amestris and the others were Ishval. Children sent to fight when the adults could no longer. Genocide becoming more creative. One side more advanced than the other, more peaceful, more innocent.

He shuddered because he understood.

Ed, however, did not understand. His naive mind thought otherwise, and he said, "that's bull. Who do you think makes all those giant balloons and tanks? Not the big buff guy with the pea sized brain, that's for sure. You can't win a war with just muscles — you need a brain."

Offhandedly, and somewhat deliberately, Mustang commented, "I guess that makes you the perfect soldier?" And he studied how Fullmetal's face morphed into an angry scowl, his arms folding tightly around his chest, his eyes narrowing.

"Yeah," he bit out, trying to make it sound like there wasn't a deeper meaning to Mustang's question. "I guess it does."

* * *

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* * *

They flew for hours. The sky had darkened considerably since they departed. If it weren't for the excess amount of passengers as per norm, Appa would have already reached their destination. But the flying bison grunted his way in the sky, taking on the extra weight with no complaints. Neither did his passengers complain.

The day was drawing to a close quickly. Sokka had fallen asleep and then quickly sat up, awake, startled, confused for a moment, then fell back asleep. The others stayed awake.

Edward and Mustang were frightengly awake. To the point that their eyes sagged as they bulged. They were forcibly keeping themselves awake, and Iroh couldn't blame them. Trust wasn't given — it was earned. However, he was pretty sure Edward was just too afraid of Appa and flying to actually fall asleep atop the animal.

He didn't want to seem too intermeddling with his brief glances to his foreign visitors, but Iroh couldn't help it. He was curious — and apprehensive. There was something. Something. He was still grasping as to what exactly is that something, but he knew it was there. Like a spot at the corner of his eye. Or an itch that he couldn't make disappear. It was there. And he knew it.

Zuko was eyeing him the way he always did when he knew his Uncle was acting strange. Brow raised, chin dipped, a low whisper of "Uncle..." but Iroh just hummed, then sighed, then turned his eyes to look at his nephew. Zuko nodded, because there were so many words and sentences and phrases behind those old eyes that he could read, and he understood all of them. His uncle stroked his beard thoughtfully, like a sage reviewing the meaning of life.

Peculiar. That was the word. Peculiar. Peculiar. Peculiar. These two were very peculiar. Very interesting. Very - mysterious. But Iroh had to smile. Because mysteries were exciting. They were thrilling to solve. And he knew that these two, strangers to a strange world from their own strange world, had a goldmine of mysteries to solve.

A cool breeze splashed his face, and he soaked in the fresh bitterness of the feel, when Mustang shuffled in his spot and asked, "I was curious," — Iroh smiled. Ah, good choice of word. Curious. That makes two of them — "This blood that has been decided to bring us home ... can it actually accomplish the task?"

Doubt. Demurral. Hesitation. Reaching close to his destination and he is questioning the solution to his problems. Iroh agreed with him. He should feel apprehensive with this _mysterious _solution of theirs. Lack of information. Secondary sources. This man was calculating. He could not afford to make mistakes. He refuses to make mistakes. He is doubting something he doesn't know, yet cannot afford to _not _know.

"The Phoenixdragon blood," Zuko began in his rumbling voice, slow and punctual. "Is said to be the only enhancer of bending, excluding the sun and moon, that can prolong the user's life _and _amplify their strength. It is the most valuable treasure in all of the Fire Nation — maybe even in all the world. It can accomplish your task. Maybe even more."

"But how can you be so sure?" Mustang pressed. He wanted to — he _needed _to know that the information Zuko was giving him were facts. "You've seen it be used? You've seen it in action?"

Good choice of questions. Mustang was most definitely the type of man who had to see something in order to believe it. Iroh knew Zuko's answer. Nobody on this planet has seen the Pheonixdragon blood except the one who possesses it. He watched the muscles in Zuko's jaw jump as he answered, quieter this time.

"I have never seen it in person. Ever. It is stored away, hidden from everyone, and only my father knows it's location. I know about it from the talks of my father. He claims that my grandfather had used it to fight the war."

There it is, Iroh thought. The one thing Mustang did not want to hear. If Zuko had never seen it, how can he be sure it existed? Iroh studied Mustang solemnly. What would he do now, Iroh wondered. Demand that they turn around? Ask for a different solution? Iroh waited to see.

But Mustang didn't say anything; he didn't reply. He turned his head, toward Edward, and something unspoken shifted in his eyes. Those eyes had just said something. They had asked something, and whatever it was, Iroh couldn't understand it. But Edward could. He read it easily, and nodded to the other man.

"Very well," Mustang murmured, his head turning, addressing Zuko. And that was all he said before he settled back in his spot.

Interesting. Iroh smiled. Most interesting. Very, very interesting. The silent conversation between the two had flown over everybody's head. They were oblivious to the muted conversation.

Trust. It was full fledged trust in each other. Even with all the animosity the two showed each other, there was still trust between those blazing eyes. These two were much more than they seemed. They had a strange bond — peculiar. Interesting. Curious. Mysterious.

Iroh uncrossed his arms from their comfortable position and let them fall on his side. He sat up straighter. His throat rumbled when he began speaking, "I've seen it."

The lapse of silence must have been longer than he expected because Mustang's head tilted and said, "Hmm?"

"The Pheonixdragon blood. I have seen it. I can assure you, it is real."

All eyes were on him and he liked that. He liked having an audience and passing on his words to curious ears. Even Sokka snorted awake, blearingly looking around, before yawning and paying attention.

Zuko frowned. "But I thought only the Fire Lord could see it; that it was passed down to each new Fire Lord, and was stored away in secrecy."

"Ah, but who do you think was originally supposed to be the Fire Lord after your grandfather?"

A small smile crept on Zuko's face, and Ed asked, "Wait — so it _does _exist? It's real? And does all the things you guys said it does?"

Iroh nodded — although Ed didn't know which question his nod was answering — and said, after a short pause, "The story of the Phoenixdragon blood is one that has been passed down to Fire Nation royalty, and for Fire Nation Royalty's ears only."

Zuko recognized his uncle's tone. It was the same tone he used when telling him the stories of his son or the stories of his expenditures in battle and war. He settled himself where he sat, and focused all his attention on his uncle as he spoke.

Iroh held up his index finger, a habit he accumulated when telling stories to ask for attention and for silence. He was all everyone was focusing on at this point, eager to hear what he had to say.

"Centuries and centuries ago, when spirits roamed the Earth, the dragons and phoenixes lived on separate sides of the planet. The dragons settled east, and the phoenixes west.

"The two beasts were always in battle, for they had complete opposite qualities. The dragons were rage and fury, destruction and devastation. The phoenixes were spirit and light, consecration and resurrection. When the two clashed, it was like watching two suns collide. The aftermath of their battles always left deformations on the land, which hundreds of years later would become the volcanoes we see here."

He paused. Eyes were wide with awe and disbelief. Aang and Zuko had shared a look when Iroh had mentioned the dragons, but he pretended not to notice. He cleared his throat and continued.

"Slowly, as the years passed, the two beasts destroyed one another. Eventually, all that was left was one dragon and one phoenix, while the others either perished or hid themselves away to avoid death and were never seen from again. The two fought for years, their powers on par. And as those years passed on, fighting and battling, the dragon grew weaker by age while the phoenix did not."

At the confused looks, Iroh explained: "The phoenixes have always been recognized for their long life-cycles, living for as long as 800 years, which was always envied by the dragons."

Iroh paused, licking his lips, folding his arms once again over his chest, "So, the one remaining dragon, as a last desperate act of survival, while fighting the last phoenix, did the unthinkable."

He paused again before speaking, working his jaw. Pursing his lips thin, he said, "It _devoured _the phoenix. Mercilessly ate it alive. Flesh, bone — everything. Left nothing behind."

Faces blanched in horror. He didn't blame them for being disgusted. When he had first heard the story, years and years ago from his father, along with his brother, he felt purely disgusted at how his father had described it. He couldn't remember how old he was, maybe a few years older than these children, but the image of such a monstrous beast tearing apart and eating another was horrid. Ozai, however, looked amazed, as if it were the most brilliant strategy ever.

Timidly, quietly, Aang asked, "And became the Phoenixdragon?"

Iroh nodded. "And became the Phoenixdragon."

He said, "The flesh of the phoenix the dragon had consumed had changed it phenomenally, in appearance, strength, and nature, gaining new powers beyond anyone's imagination. All the fires of the world were at it's disposal. It had become an unworldly creature, feared by all the spirits, seen as an abomination.

"The Phoenixdragon lived for centuries. As those years passed, its powers grew. Its powers became too overwhelming for it to control. Fire trailed behind it, burning civilizations as it roamed the Earth. The weather became so hot it was unbearable for humans and vegetation. When it touched the ground, volcanoes erupted. When it flapped it's wings, waves of unbearable heat scorched all in its path.

"The first of mankind had had enough of the Phoenixdragon's pollution of their world, and thus decided to stand up to the beast. So, one by one, men challenged the Phoenixdragon, in anyway possible, desperate to rid their world of the hellish monster. And one by one, they fell, it's almighty power becoming too much for them to withstand.

"And then one man, who would later become the first Fire Lord, challenged the beast with the firebending he mastered from watching the Phoenixdragon, and defeated it. The Phoenixdragon, having never been defeated or even hurt for the the first time in centuries, was overwhelmed with the outcome of the battle, fled, while the man who defeated it, amazed at the feet he accomplished, collected the blood as his trophy, only to later discover that it held astounding powers and used it to create the Fire Nation."

Iroh stopped there, glancing around at the awestruck faces of his audience. Ed, however, frowned at the incomplete story, and asked, "What happened to the Phoenixdragon? Where'd it go?"

Iroh smiled at the question. "The Phoenixdragon realized it could not live on Earth any longer after its defeat, for the creature, with all it's otherworldly powers, had become neither a dragon or a phoenix — but into a flame. A fire with a heart and mind. So it fled to the only place that welcomed it..." He trailed off, pointing to the orange sky.

Aang's eyes were wide with shock as he breathed, "The sun..."

"So that's why the sun strengthens our bending," Zuko murmured. "The sun _is _the Phoenixdragon."

"And the Phoenixdragonis the sun," Iroh nodded.

Katana blinked, asking slowly, "How ... how many people know about this story?"

"Only my brother and I," quietly, to himself, with a smile tugging on his lips, Iroh counted off his audience and continued, "And seven other people, are the only ones on the planet that know of it." He chuckled and shrugged, a mock-guilty look crossing his face as he playfully said, "Well, now I've done it. Spilling explicit Fire Nation secrets to the enemy." He grinned broadly, saying, "I would have made a terrible Fire Lord."

* * *

.

* * *

When they touched down on the ground, stars littered the black sky and the moon shone with every fiber of its being. Appa let out a huge breathe that most likely was a sigh when all the passengers left his back. Aang patted his head gently, murmuring praises such as "good boy" and "you did good, Appa".

Ed's feet wobbled like pasta when he started to walk. He had the sudden urge to kiss the ground – this would be the absolute _last _time he flew anywhere. Human beings were not meant to be in the air. There was a reason gravity existed, and he was determined to follow that reason.

Zuko pointed up, to a cliff that was surrounded by ragged, pointed rocks. "There," he said simply. Following the invisible trail his finger created, everybody turned their heads and squinted in the dark. Atop the cliff was a large house, excellently crafted with golden linings and orange, tiled roofs. It screamed royalty.

There were collectable groans at the distance they had to trek, majority of which was coming from Sokka. He hung his head, "We have to walk? But I'm _tired."_

"Already you start complaining," Katara muttered, rolling her eyes. And she had a right to, since it was Appa who had done all the work and who had the only right to complain.

Sokka hung his head even lower, dragging his feet on the dirt ground, resisting the urge to complain more. Katara honestly couldn't blame him, though. They were all tired. They had an excruciatingly long and eventful day, but thankfully, it was finally coming to an end.

Their trudge up the steep hill was sluggish and slow paced, but nobody said anything of it. When they reached the house, they didn't bother to stop and admire the creative architecture that was the beach house. Zuko opened the door for them all, which only led to darkness. He flicked his hand, and a small fire materialized. He threw it across, and the room inside bleared with light.

"There's about ten bedrooms here, mostly guest bedrooms," Zuko drawled, sleep slipping from his eyes and tongue. "Take whatever room you want, except the first one on the left, unless you want to sleep in the same bed my father slept in. Blankets and pillows are in the huge closet near the back."

They followed each other inside the beach house and into their own rooms sluggishly. Mustang gently put his hands on Ed's shoulders and asked, quietly, walking instep behind him, "how are you feeling?"

Ed didn't say anything at first. His head was hung, shoulders slumped, feet dragging as he walked, which was all the characteristics that had worried Mustang in the first place. Ed's whole frame was numbly shaking, almost vibrating. The close proximity with Aang had taken its toll on Ed. If it weren't for Mustang's firm hands on his shoulders, he would have been on the floor, collapsed from exhaustion.

"Like shit," Ed finally answered, the two words jumbling in his mouth. He took a step and tripped on his own footing, but Mustang's hands kept him upright, gently pushing him down the hall.

"Aang took the room in the front," Mustang told him. "So you should stay in the last room; the further the better."

Ed hummed, not replying directly. Instead of an appropriate reply, Ed murmured, "Shouldn't be staying here at all … feel like I'm going to melt."

Mustang's brow furrowed at the rather disoriented response, but it was as close to Ed opening up about his ordeal as he could get, so pressed on, "is it hurting you? Being around Aang?"

He nodded tiredly, running a hand down his face, sighing deeply. He didn't say anything afterword, which concerned Mustang. To see Ed so quiet when he was naturally loud and flamboyant was increasingly worrisome. When they reached the last door, Ed shrugged off Mustang's hands and reached for the doorknob.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Mustang couldn't help but ask.

The boy paused, but nodded, saying, "I'm tired."

"If anything comes up, I'll be one door down, alright?"

Ed turned around to face Mustang, frowning deeply, his eyes clearly unfocused from exhaustion and whatever else he had to endure because of Aang's presence. "No, Colonel, I'm tired," he slurred. "I'm tired of being here, feeling like ... this. I just want to go back. I want to see Al. I'm tired..."

"Look at me." Mustang knelt, gaining Ed's eye level and attention, halting whatever Ed had to say next since it obviously put a strain on him. "We'll get back. You heard Iroh – there is a way. You told me so, too."

"I don't remember the circle," Ed murmured. "Can't do the transmutation without the circle."

"You give me far less credit than I deserve, Fullmetal. Really, did you honestly think I would come unprepared?"

Ed squinted, confused. "You memorized the circle?"

"Better." He reached for the inside pocket of his coat and pulled out a long, yellow envelope. He waved it a little, like a flag, and said with an easy smirk, "This all began with that case filed by Mrs. Finnegan, remember? When she first called me, complaining about Artfield and his alchemy, I told her to try and take a photograph of his alchemy if she could." He waved the envelope again, and Ed understood.

In a blink, his eyes cleared and shone with focus and he made a grab for the envelope in Mustang's hand, but the Colonel stood up quickly, holding it over his head and away from Ed's reach. He stashed it back in his inside pocket and said, "Not so fast. I need you fully rested and focused before you can start studying it."

"You had it this whole time and didn't tell me?" Ed snarled. "We could have been home by now!"

"Inside voices, Fullmetal. Others are sleeping. And besides, there was absolutely no time for me to actually show you this with the fiasco you brought along. Think about it: we had little to a minute of peace this whole time." He reached over and pushed the bedroom door open, showing a small mattress on the floor and a dusty and cracked window.

Edward did not budge. "At least let me look at it for just a second –"

"Not even a millisecond. I know you, Fullmetal. Once you get your hands on it, it will be the center of your attention, so much so that you forget to eat and sleep, which I cannot allow." He gave Ed a slight push on the back, beckoning him toward the bed. "Now off you go, into bed like a good little brat."

"_Who are you calling – !_" Mustang shut the door, muting whatever else Ed would have screamed. With a large breathe, he dragged himself over to his bedroom, mulling over what to expect for tomorrow before he finally fell asleep.

* * *

.

* * *

Mustang woke up to another morning wondering why he was on an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room, to an unfamiliar lack of a hangover. Then, as it had for the previous mornings, it all came rushing back to him in a flash and he closed his eyes and suppressed a groan.

He dreaded the day when he would be used to waking up in a different world. Hopefully, that day wouldn't come any time soon.

Roy rose from his bed sluggishly, taking in his surroundings with a bored expression. There wasn't anything remotely peculiar about the room he spent the night in – wooden floors and walls, a small window, little furniture – so he paid no mind to it.

What he did pay mind to was the fact that his coat was gone.

He specifically remembered taking it off before he threw himself onto the bed. Mustang got to his knees and looked under the bed, under the covers, over the nightstand, behind the door and found nothing. Then it hit him. He rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Fullmetal."

He instantly regretted telling Edward about the envelope he had. He should have seen this coming. He should have at least _heard _Ed come into his room. He was a trained military elite, for crying out loud. How embarrassing. He blamed it on intense exhaustion and the powerful need for sleep.

Mustang left his room and strolled around the halls of the beach house, noticing the lack of company. He frowned. He made a few more turns, making note at how incredibly _large _this house was, and found a room that most likely was a kitchen, and Sokka.

"Look who's finally up," Sokka said in a tone that Mustang heard Hughes use on Elicia multiple times. Sokka was currently stuffing his face with some sort of pastry while Momo lay lazily on his head. Mustang took a seat beside the boy, reaching for the bowl full of pastries.

He took a bite, grimaced at how sweet it was, and asked, "What time is it?"

"About 3ish."

Mustang choked, almost spitting the food from his mouth. He swallowed and asked, "I slept through the whole _morning?"_

Sokka grinned. "Yup," He took a bite and said, "We decided to just let you guys sleep in since you so obviously needed your beauty sleep."

The frown crept back up Mustang's face. As much as he hated to admit at how aggressively his body needed the sleep, he would have been much more content if he _didn't _waste half the day doing absolutely nothing productive.

He let it go and took another bite. "So I supposed Edward's still sleeping, then?"

"Nah. He's been up before all of us."

Mustang sighed, not surprised in the least. "Of course he has." He ran his hand down his face and asked, "Do you know where he is?"

Sokka shook his head, "Haven't seen him for hours. He pretty much disappeared. But Katara might have seen him. I think she was in front, last I checked."

Sokka stood up leading the way, and Mustang followed, having nothing better to do. Momo flew ahead of both of them, and Mustang was beginning to believe that Sokka didn't know where the front of the beach house was and was just following the flying lemur. He didn't say anything. It's not like he knew where it was either.

A few turns through the winding halls led them to the front door. Katara was sitting on the steps, overlooking the beach from a great height. She turned to the sound of approaching footsteps and smiled at her visitors.

"Good morning – or, afternoon." She giggled at the grimace Mustang produced. "Did you sleep well?"

"Too well," he said unhappily.

"That was the idea," she replied. "Don't be too upset about it. Nothing eventful happened while you slept. It was pretty much a very lazy day."

Mustang didn't tell her that maybe it was a lazy day for them, but for him he could have accomplished many things in an uneventful day. Instead, he asked, "Where are the others? It's strange – I don't think it's ever been this quiet around all of you."

"I'm not sure – I think Aang and Zuko are in the back…"

Sokka supplied, "Iroh went down to the market, according to Zuko, and Toph is walking around. Oh, right – Katara, have you seen Ed anywhere? Mustang's looking for him."

Katara cocked her head to the side, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. She hummed, frowning, "Mm, no… not recently. I did see him talking to Toph about an hour ago. She might know where he is. I remember he was dragging your coat with him – I didn't you lent it to him."

"I didn't," Mustang deadpanned.

"Oh." Then, at Mustang's expression, she said, "_Oh_."

She bit her lip, looking a little guilty at having ratted out Ed, while Sokka barked a laugh and rubbed his hands together, grinning impishly. "Ed's in trouble? Oh _man, _now that's something I'd like to see!"

"You're going to see that pretty soon once I get my hands on him," Roy grumbled. He looked to Katara, "Where'd you say you saw Toph?" The girl stood up, leading the way back inside, and Mustang found himself following her while Sokka trailed behind.

They found Toph in the middle of a hallway with an annoyed look on her face. She had a hand on the wall, the other outstretched, taking tentative steps, all the while grousing, "Stupid wooden floors…"

"Toph?" Sokka called when he saw her.

The small girl jumped, straightening like a startled cat. She swiveled around fast, glaring, "Sokka, you _ass! _Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Um," Katara hesitated. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to find the kitchen. I'm freakin' _starving._" She pointed to where she thought Sokka was and said, "You better have not eaten all the croissants, Sokka, or that will be the last thing you ever eat!"

"I didn't!" Sokka yelped immediately, but if Toph could see how he blanched, took a step back, and ducked behind Mustang, she wouldn't have believed him.

She took another slow step. "I swear, whoever thought it was a good idea to have wooden floors is an _idiot_." Another step, and she bumped into Katara, who held up her hands in case Toph fell over.

"Er," Katara started, awkwardly turning Toph to face her. "Um, do you know where Ed is? That was kind of why we came looking for you."

"Ed?" She scratched her head. "Yeah, that idiot's in the courtyard with Appa doing some nerd stuff. But he told me not to tell Mustang, so if you see him, don't say anything."

"I'm right here," Mustang sighed.

Toph blinked. Then again. Then she stomped her foot, "_Stupid _wooden floors!" She pointed to where she thought Mustang was and said, "if he gets pissed, not my fault. I'm _blind_."

She walked passed them rather messily. Katara called after her, "You want me to help you reach the kitchen?"

"I lack _vision, _not a sense of direction!" Toph called back, before bumping into a wall and shouting, "you didn't see that!" and continuing on her way.

Sokka shrugged. He pointed forward, saying, "off to the courtyard, is it!"

True to Toph's words, Ed was in the courtyard, leaning against Appa underneath the shade. Aang and Zuko were also in the courtyard, having, what seemed to be, a fire bending lesson. Mustang strolled across the yard and toward Ed, with the Water Tribe siblings behind him.

Mustang's coat was thrown aside, much to his dismay. Papers were scattered all around Ed, but he looked pretty engrossed in one particular one that he held in his hand. He picked up his coat and waved it clean of dirt.

The Colonel stood in front of him. Ed gave no reaction of acknowledging the older man's presense. Mustang cleared his throat. Nothing. Annoyed – and he had a right to be at this point – he snatched the paper from Ed's hands, "Fullmetal."

"Hey! The _hell_ – I was looking at that!" Ed instinctively snapped, shooting up. He froze when he saw Mustang. "Crap…"

Sokka and Katara snickered behind Mustang. "Yes, _crap. _Do you mind telling me why _my _coat is here rather than where I left it?"

Instead of answering the question, Ed turned to the beach house, craning his neck and shouting, "_Goddammit, Toph!" _Then, from a distance, a loud but faint, "_I'm blind!" _was heard.

Mustang crossed his arms. "I'm waiting, Fullmetal."

Ed threw his hands up, exasperated by the condescending tone and the tight look his superior officer was throwing him. God he hated that look. That '_you did something wrong and I'm going to remind you you did it wrong until one of us dies' _look. He felt like sticking his tongue out. "Oh, _fine. _I took it. Happy? But, really, Mustang – what'd you expect?"

"I expected you to be patient and _wait."_

"Well, you should lower your expectations," Ed snorted, snatching back the piece of paper from Mustang and sitting down. He settled back in his previous position and said, "Besides, I don't see what you're so uptight about. I'm half way done with deciphering the circle, once I figure out what this is. If anything, you should be _thanking me. _Do you know how much I accomplished with all the time I had?_"_

There it is, Mustang thought with a suppressed eye roll. That cocky attitude of Fullmetal's that he always dreaded. The little brat _always _thinks he has all the right answers, even if they are to the wrong questions. Roy pinched the bridge of his nose, "You're missing the point, Fullmetal. You're not invincible."

A snort. "I know that."

"No, you don't," He raised a hand quickly and silenced Ed the moment he opened his mouth to counter. "How many hours did you sleep, if you got _any _sleep at all?"

"I slept plenty!"

It was Roy's turn to snort, as did Sokka and Katara. "You have bags under your eyes – you haven't blinked in the last thirty seconds – you're practically slurring your words."

"Really, Ed," Katara joined in as the silver lining of peace. "You need to at least sleep or take a break every once in a while. You can't keep going on like this or else your body will fail on you when you need it the most."

"I'll take a break once I'm back home with my brother, thank you very much," he replied flippantly, avoiding eye contact, gluing them to the paper in his hand. "I can't take a break. Taking a break means more time wasted away from my world, and that's time I can't afford."

"Alphonse can take care of himself," Mustang found himself saying with a heavy sigh and he didn't even flinch when Ed instinctively snapped back, "He shouldn't have to!"

Edward contained himself with a deep breath, his flustered face regaining their normal tan colors. He said, "I know what I'm doings, so don't fuss over it. You guys have bigger things to worry about. You have a _war _to fight. Worry about that and let me worry about this."

Katara frowned. She put her hands on her hips; a habit she picked up whenever she prepared herself for a lecture. But then she let them fall. She turned to Sokka, asking, "Go get Ed something to eat, would you? I'm pretty sure he skipped breakfast." And when he took off, she sat down beside Ed and asked, "So what did you say you were deciphering?"

Ed gave her a hard look. "I just said to –"

"I know what you said, and I'm ignoring it," she replied with a smile. "And I told you before, we want to help. And getting you back home _is _something we should worry about. Now," she picked the piece of paper from his hands. "What did you say you were deciphering?"

Mustang would give _anything _to have a girl like that in his office to settle all of the disputes that constantly rang about. Hell, she would make an excellent diplomatic negotiator. He would bet his whole year's salary that she could make Amestris and Drachma shake hands and let bygones be bygones.

Ed shot her a confused look and turned to give Mustang a helpless one. Roy shrugged. _You're on your own_, he mouthed. Ed blanched, and blanched further at Katara's expectant look. He finally caved with the hanging of his head and a sigh.

"I'm deciphering the circle that was used to send us here," Ed said, pointing to the one piece of paper that had the photograph of the complicated array on it that Mustang recognized as the one Mrs. Finnegan gave him.

Sokka returned with an armful of bread and pastries. "I thought you said you just needed the circle to get back. Can't you just do your alchemy on it and go home?"

"Alchemy is much more complicated than that," Mustang told him. "You must first have the necessities to satisfy the equivalent exchange, which, in this case, is the Phoenixdragon blood."

"And having the circle isn't enough," Ed continued. "I need to _understand_ the circle. I need to know the properties and formulas to understand how it works. Especially for me, since the transmutation has to be done in my head because I can just clap my hands to do alchemy. If I don't understand the circle when I do the transmutation, best case scenario would be that nothing happens."

"And the worst?" Katara asked, even though a part of her knew the answer.

Ed shrugged. "Rebound. My head could fly off, Mustang could explode; take your pick."

"And we'll be crossing our fingers that that doesn't happen," Mustang mumbled.

Ed sent him a wicked grin, "Don't doubt my genius."

Sokka took a bite of his croissant and handed one to Ed. "Alright, genius, if you're so smart, why haven't you figured the circle out yet?"

Ed's grin quickly melted to a glare. "Because this shit is complicated as fuck!"

"Language." Mustang reprimanded.

"Exactly, _language_! What kind of crackpot language is _this_?" He pointed to the paper, the one with a circle, at one spot with complicated scribbles and what looked like doodles. "I've never seen any sigils or symbols like these. It's like Artfield pulled it out of his ass."

"To a less vulgar extent, I had the same hypothesis," Mustang said. "When I first saw these, my first thought was that Artfield created his own alchemic language and symbols to create this circle."

"That's impossible," Edward deadpanned.

"So is travelling to other worlds."

"Maybe we can help," Katara offered. At the weary looks Mustang and Edward gave her, she rolled her eyes. "I'm serious! Look, I know that we're not exactly alchemy geniuses like you two –"

"Only me," Ed muttered.

"— But, I mean, it's deciphering codes. How hard can that be? Here, let me see one of them."

His weary look still present on his face, Ed showed her one of the papers lying on the ground and pointed to a drawing. Katara looked at it. A line with three triangles on top of it. She snapped her fingers. "Easy, that's a crown! "

"Metallum."

"Oh." She grimaced, "Was I at least close?"

"No."

Sokka pointed at one that looked like an upside triangle with a small circle underneath it. "Well, that's obviously a bell."

"It's Sulphur." Ed ran a hand down his face.

"What about that one?" Sokka asked. "That one looks like just a bunch of squiggly lines."

"It's the symbol for time," Ed answered. "See, this circle is basically just a bunch of codes when put together, allows it to function correctly. Each symbol has a role in the circle, and it's my job to figure out the roles of _all of them. _If I don't, then the circle is useless."

Sokka hmm'ed wisely, rubbing his chin. "So which ones are the ones you don't know?"

In a flash, Ed pulled up three separate sheets with three separate symbols on each, respectively. They had small splotches of dirt on them from being on the earthy ground so long, as well as Appa's fur. They were even crinkled and wrinkled with a few rips, which, Sokka guessed, was the result of Ed's frustration.

"These," Ed pointed. On one paper, there was a scribble of what appeared to be a circular flower surrounded by some strange polygon. Sokka could understand how Ed didn't know what it meant since he himself couldn't even describe it.

The second one was somewhat easy to describe: three wavy lines on top of each other with upside down half circles.

The third was definitely easy. It was a wheel. Simple. Like the steering wheel of the war balloons or of the larger boats he's seen.

When Sokka voiced his interpretation of each symbol – "A flower in a weird box"; "Squiggly lines with upside circles"; "A wheel!" – Ed simply shook his head, as if expecting Sokka to say them.

He explained, "See how they're each on the inside lining of the circle, on top of each other? That means it's a sequence. Each symbol accompanies the one near it, like a mathematical equation."

"So what would be the end result?" Sokka asked.

"The whole circle."

Sokka scratched his head, looking at his sister. She shrugged, just as clueless and confused. "You're right. This _is _complicated."

Ed groaned. "I _know. _Jeez, I swear, I never get a break."

Mustang smirked, standing up. "Cheer up, Fullmetal. You have two enthusiastic volunteers here willing to help. You should be done in no time."

"You make it sound _so _easy."

"Wait," Katara stopped him. "You're leaving? You're not going to help? But you're an alchemist, too."

Mustang shook his head. "Contrary to popular belief," he said with a sad frown, because he knew Ed was grinning wolfishly as him, already prepared for Mustang's answer. "Edward _is _a genius. And if he can't figure something out that has to do with alchemy, than I most certainly can _not."_

* * *

.

* * *

Mustang was having a very relaxing time watching Aang and Zuko practice their firebending. Since his arrival in this world, he had been most intrigued with _bending. _It was strange, in a curious way, how the humans of this world can summon the elements at their will. He supposed that their opinion on his world's alchemy would be just as similar.

Iroh had joined him in sitting underneath a large tree while watching Aang and Zuko exchange flames. The old man had returned with a large supply of food, but the majority of his haul was tea.

"It's been so long since I've had Ember Island tea," Iroh had explained. "The people here have such unique tea – they add just a hint of spice to create a flaming taste. It really lives up to its name; Ember Tea!"

Mustang made sure to keep one ear open to the conversation on the other side of the courtyard between Ed, Sokka, Katara and, who had recently joined in on the fuss, Toph, although her contributions were the least helpful. Their conversation was the most amusing thing Mustang had heard in a long time.

"For the last time, it's not a freakin' wheel!"

"But it looks like one!"

"Doesn't mean it _is _one."

"Then what do you think it is?"

"I don't know!"

"Then how do you know it's _not_ a wheel? I say we call it a wheel and hope for the best."

"Oh my _god."_

The conversation between Zuko and Aang was somewhat similar, which mainly consisted of Aang complaining and Zuko rebuking. But Mustang mostly concerned himself with the firebending itself. It was just so captivating. He couldn't help but stare. The more he looked on, however, the more he noticed similarities between his fire alchemy and their fire bending.

It was when Zuko shook his head and told Aang that his technique was too wild and uncoordinated that he caught on to what Aang was doing.

"Have you noticed," Iroh asked, and when Mustang gave him an odd look, he elaborated. "Hakoda told me that your alchemy uses fire, so you must have an extensive knowledge on flames."

Then Mustang understood. He stood up and walked toward the courtyard, towards Aang and Zuko. He called to them to grab their attention.

"Aang, would you mind showing me your firebending again?"

Aang, of course, was confused at the odd request, but otherwise complied. He bent his legs, took a deep breathe, and punched the air – which turned into a wave of flames.

Roy nodded studiously. "Have you always known how to firebend or is it still new to you."

"Um, well, I only _really _knew how to correctly do it for a few months, not even."

"Ah, then I see your problem." Mustang searched his pockets, pulling a single white glove. "I'm sure Edward had told you that my alchemy specializes in fire. And it doesn't matter which world or universe it's in, all fire is the same."

"Now," Mustang continued. "Zuko said that your flames were too out of control. Do you know why?"

Aang frowned. "No, not really. I can't help it though – I mean, I don't know how to _not _make it out of control. I've tried!"

"That's because you're still new to fire, and too excited with it."

Aang cocked his head. "I don't understand."

"I'll show you." Mustang slipped on one of his gloves onto his left hand and poised it to snap. "I'm going to fire at that tree, are you paying attention?" Aang nodded and Mustang snapped.

A small stream of fire, almost like red and blue lightening, shot out of his fingers smoothly, and when it was close to the designated tree, it expanded into a fiery blotch of flames and attacked the tree, leaving nothing but a ball of blaze.

Amidst Aang and Zuko's amazed faces, Mustang explained over the roaring flames, "I've been using fire in my alchemy for years, when I was about your age. Did you see how concentrated and pinpointed it was? How _direct? _That is what you're lacking. Now I'll show you what you're doing."

Mustang turned his head toward where Edward and the others were, who's attentions were towards Mustang theatricals. Mustang called to the blonde boy, "Fullmetal – come here for a moment."

He grumbled and cursed as he made his way towards his superior officer, but otherwise obeyed. Standing in front of the older man, he asked, "What?"

"Here." Mustang handed him his glove. "I'm allowing you one snap and one snap only."

Ed stared at the hand that was giving him the glove and didn't move. "…is this a joke?"

"No."

"You're letting me use your glove."

"That is correct."

"_You're _letting _me _use your _glove."_

"Yes."

"You're lying."

"For two years you've been bothering me nonstop about wanting to use my gloves and tried every method possible to try and steal them and the moment I willingly _give them to you, _you don't take them. Take advantage of the opportunity and _take the glove, _Fullmetal."

Edward continued to stare at him suspiciously, waiting for some kind of punch line to a joke or a loud _'sike!" _but none came. Finally, he slowly plucked the glove from his superior officer's hand and put it on his own. "Holy shit."

"One snap," Mustang reminded him.

And soon enough, Edward's maniac grin formed on his face as he stared at his gloved his hand. "Oh my _god. _Havoc is _never _going to believe this."

"Focus," Mustang reprimanded. "Now this is what I want you to do. You see that tree? No, not the one of fire – the one _next to it._.. That's what I want you to hit. You understand how the fire alchemy works? Close enough. Just aim, and snap."

He turned back to Aang, "Pay close attention." Then back to Ed, "Ready?"

"I was _born _ready!"

"Go for it."

And Ed did. He snapped, and a huge wave of flames, nothing like Mustang's, came roaring out, and not only did it hit the tree that he was told to hit, but even the six that _surrounded it. _The force and size of the flames knocked Ed off his feet when he snapped.

"Holy shit," he repeated when he watched his handiwork.

"Should have warned you about the ricochet," Mustang murmured, helping him up. He turned to Aang, "Do you see the difference? This was Edward's first time using fire alchemy, so obviously he would go all out and pay no mind to exertion. His flames were wilder than mine because he didn't care about what he hit, as long as he _hit. _Do you understand?"

Aang nodded slowly, "I think so."

"Good." Mustang reached down and swiftly plucked his glove out of Edward's hand before more damage can be done. "that will be all, Fullmetal."

"Wait! One more snap! Just one – I messed up on this one, I wasn't ready! One more snap, please Colonel!"

Mustang ignored him, pocketing away the glove, and continued to address Aang. "What you need to do is try to _focus _and make your firebending more _concentrated _so that it won't run a muck and do more damage than good."

"Just like lightning," Zuko mumbled. "Lightening is basically just concentrated heat, but requires a _huge _amount of concentration. The lightening Azula and my father use is just bending a strenuous amount of fire condensed into a bolt of lightening." He looked up to Mustang. "With the concentration you already have, I'm pretty sure just a little bit more can change your fire alchemy into lightening."

Mustang's eyes widened at the idea. "I've never thought about it in that way. _Lightening _alchemy. The idea is bizarre but possible."

Edward groaned loudly. "Oh _god. _Please don't teach him how to shoot lightening. His fire is annoying as hell as it already is!"

"Run along, Fullmetal. The grown ups are talking."

"Screw you, Colonel Asshat!"

* * *

.

* * *

It was an hour later when Ed finally exploded, jumping up from where he sat surrounded by the papers and his work.

"Fuck this! No – that's it! This is bullshit! _Impossible. _I'm getting nowhere with this shit! No, do _not _tell me to calm down! There is _no way _I can calm down when this shit is written in fucking hieroglyphics. I need a break – I need to walk around. I need to clear my head and think. I need a break."

Then Ed walked out of the courtyard and into the beach house. The children exchanged a nervous glance. Then, just as quickly as he left, Ed returned, scrambling his hair, once again exploding.

"No! I can't take a break! What the hell was I thinking?! A break? A _break? _How could you guys let me do that? No, don't answer that! Jeez, I'm such an idiot! I gotta keep going! I'm going to figure this shit out and I'm going to get the hell out of here! No – I'm going to curse however the hell I want! No breaks! I'm not getting up from here until I figure this out!"

Zuko snorted, and Iroh and Aang laughed. Mustang felt embarrassed at his subordinate's theatrics. The four of them were sitting on the back steps of the beach house overlooking the courtyard, taking a break from their firebending practice. Mustang was coming along rather well with his lightening alchemy. All he needed was to incorporate a small change in the transmutation circle. Now, if only he could find a sewing kit.

"Is he always like that?" Aang asked, pointing to Ed, who practically had pieces of paper shoved in his eyes.

Mustang sighed wearingly. "When he's got his mind set on something, yes. Although his brother would usually keep him under control."

"What _are _they doing, anyway?"

"Trying to decipher the transmutation circle. The explanation is much more complicated, but to keep matters simple, Edward must decode a few more symbols before he's completed it and can use it."

"That sounds," Aang scratched his head, trying to formulate the appropriate word. "Challenging? I think I'll go help. Maybe I can contribute something."

Mustang grabbed the boy's hand the moment he stood up.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

There was a pause after Mustang asked, in which Zuko and Iroh's turned to the Avatar, waiting to see his reaction and answer. Aang paused, too, only managing to take half a step, head turned to face Mustang. He frowned sadly, looking away. He swallowed, his throat jumping, but his face was resolute when he nodded.

"It's fine. I think. I'll – I won't go crazy. I don't know how to explain it, but, it's like this whole thing is beyond my doing, but I can, at least, reign it in. Keep it under control. Like my firebending." The last part he said with a small smile, and just looking at that smile made it hard for Mustang to see him as an all powerful being, but instead, as a naïve child.

Mustang slackened his grip and let Aang go. But he couldn't let go the strange feeling of worry in his gut and stood and followed Aang a few moments later.

He watched as Aang approached the other four children, and how Ed tensed considerably. Then Aang said a few words that were muted from Mustang's distance, and Ed nodded and gave some of his own words. Then Aang sat down, between Katara and Sokka, who looked beyond relieved, facing Ed, and they all had their faces to the papers on the dirt.

Mustang stopped mid walk, watching the children from a few strides away. He had to admit, this was probably the first time since he'd known Ed that he'd seen the boy with children his own age. Most of the time, he was surrounded by Alphonse, or his men, or generals slyly trying to pull the blonde under their wing, only to fail miserably when Ed's temper got the best of him.

"A what?"

Sokka's voice shook him out of his daze and Mustang made his way to the children. Aang was pointing at one of the papers while Sokka was looking at him with absolute confusion.

"Sri Yantra," Aang said with a shrug, trying to cover his embarrassment and sheepishness at even thinking that that's what the symbol could mean. "I don't know, I mean, I feel like I've seen that before. When I was with that weird guru, he showed me a bunch of stuff, and this symbol looks like this one he called the Sri Yantra. It's stupid, I know."

"Still looks like a weird flower to me," Sokka grumbled.

But Ed was looking at Aang with wide eyes, mouth open. "No, no, wait." Ed beckoned him, "Keep going. You said you've seen this? The exact same thing?"

Aang scratched his head, "Yeah, but, it was only briefly. I could be wrong."

"No, you're not. Maybe _I've _been wrong this whole time," Ed muttered to himself, trailing off. "Maybe… Oh, shit. _Of course."_

"What is it?" Mustang couldn't help but ask, but Edward ignored him, rounding on Aang. "Tell me everything about this symbol. What does it mean? What's the significance?"

"Uh – okay, I need to remember. It's been a while. Um, the Sri Yantra, I know for sure, was the most important symbol in the Spirit World. The guru said that it was the fundamentalism of the Spirit World, and of every human being, if that makes any sense to you. Basically, it's the core. The focus of power. The beginning. The universe."

Ed absorbed every word that came out of Aang's mouth with greedy thirst. "The universe? Oh, shit – of _course. _The universe! How could I have missed this?"

His excitement was making Mustang nervous. "What are you going on about, Fullmetal?"

"Remember what you said, Colonel? That when you looked at it, you thought it was written in a different language? That's because _it is. _It's written in _this _world's language, because Artfield was trying to come _here, _so he needed some of this world's elements. I don't know how in the hell Artfield managed to get his hands on these symbols, but he did, and he incorporated these symbols into the equation."

"So what does the Sri Yantra mean? Why is it in the circle?" Aang asked.

"Universe. Just like you said. This symbol represents the universe, and not just _the _universe in general, but _this _universe. Your universe. The _destination."_

Edward's excitement was rubbing on the others, including Mustang, who was finally finding a glimmer of hope in his cruel predicament.

Ed wasted no time in wallowing in glee. He wrote down a few notes next to the symbol and pulled up another sheet. "Does this symbol mean anything to you, Aang? Anything at all?"

Aang held the paper in his hand, squinting at it, digesting the image that appeared to be strange wavy lines. Then, after a few blinks, memory came flooding into his brain and he broke into a smile. "I-I do! I don't know how, but I've seen it before. The Letra Arma. The symbol is supposed to signify a current change, like a change in direction, change in attitude, change in destiny."

"Change, change, change," Ed said in a mantra, eyes darting back in forth, attempting to put that information into use. "Changing what? Changing…"

"Universes, Edward," Mustang supplied. "Look at the order of the symbols before trying to figuring it out. This symbol is before the one that represents the universe, meaning it's changing universes. And this last symbol, Aang…?"

"Dharma chakra," Aang breathed. "The wheel of fate. The wheel that determines which direction a person will take, what choices they'll make, what life they'll end up having."

Ed's grin was so broad it crinkled his eyes. "That's it – that's how we were moved. Holy shit, that's it!" He turned to the others, looking almost manic with excitement. "The Dharma chakra – the wheel – is the transportation. It's how we were moved from our world. The Letra Arma – the change – is the direction. It chose the destination, where we would be dumped. The Sri Yantra – the universe – is the destination. _This _universe. Then, the human transmutation, which enabled a human to be moved. And combined with everything else…"

He clapped his hands loudly, erupting a huge _snap _and an echo. "Made this transmutation circle possible to move a person from one world to another. From one _universe _to another."

He turned to Mustang, eyes shining. His eyes were practically screaming, _'I did it! I did it!', _his face, so magnificently yearning for some kind of reply from Mustang – a praise, a nod of acknowledgement, a smile of approval. And how could the Colonel not give him that?

Amidst the children's cheerful chatter, Mustang reached down and ruffled the kid's hair the way Ed hated and said, "Good job, Edward. We're now one step closer to going home."

* * *

.

* * *

After that joyous moment, the first since he'd arrived in this world, the rest of the day flew by smoothly and peacefully. Mustang couldn't ask for anything more fulfilling. He felt absolutely accomplished, as did Edward, who couldn't stop harboring that shit eating grin. But Roy would laugh when he saw the kid like that, because he couldn't blame him.

They figured out the circle, which was the one thing that Mustang believed would be the most problematic. When he first received it back in Amestris, he stared at it for a good two hours. He figured out the basics, but that was all. The formation of the circle was strange, the way human transmutation was incorporated into it was odd, and the three symbols that he couldn't wrap his mind around was just _out of this world._

But Edward figured it out, and Roy couldn't ignore the ping of pride in his chest. Ed, however, wouldn't let Aang hear the end of it.

"I cannot _believe _you knew those symbols! I mean, I was looking at them for a good twelve hours and got nothing! _Nothing. _But you knew them – just like that! I can't believe I didn't ask you from the start. God, all the time I wasted."

"It's nothing, really…"

"Nothing? It was _everything. _I was completely _stumped. _And trust me, I know stumps. I had to walk around with one for a good few months. It is not fun."

Everybody seemed to be in much lighter mood than before, as if one massive problem was lifted off of all their shoulders. Mustang liked that. He felt like he could breathe better now without the tense atmosphere. Especially now that Aang and Ed weren't at each other's throats, holding back from strangling each other. He didn't know what caused the animosity to stop, but he wasn't about to go and jinx it.

They were currently sitting in the large living room of the beach house at the end of the evening, enjoying some tea that Iroh stirred up. Conversations were flying around like rabid birds, but Mustang was focusing on other things.

Now that the circle was figured out, all that was left was the toll – the Phoenixdragon blood. Getting that would require more strength and energy rather than smarts and brains.

The children had briefed him earlier of their plan to get it. The blood would most likely be in Firelord's private quarters. During the passing of Sozin's comet, Ozai would leave his palace to heave destruction, where Aang would be waiting to stop him. Katara, Toph, and Sokka would try to fight off the battalions of Fire Nation soldiers that are on their way to the Earth Kingdom, and Iroh will fight off the ones already there. With all this happening around them, Mustang and Edward would take advantage of the chaos to go take the blood, with Zuko in tow, in case of any appearances of Azula, who he was sure would be in the Fire Nation Palace.

For reasons indescribable to Mustang, he felt extremely uncomfortable with the plan. Ed, however, after the debriefing, was able to describe his discomfort.

"Wait – so basically, what you're saying is: while you're all fighting _to the death, _in a _war, _against people who want to see the _extermination _of all your people, you want us to play treasure hunt? You can't be serious! How can you think we're okay with this?"

"Because," Katara stressed, and her voice was bordering frustration, impatience, and worry. "This is _our _war. We'll be the ones fighting it. You two have nothing to do with it, and therefore, _will have _nothing to do with it. We are not dragging you two into this mess. You have enough problems as it is."

Her reasoning was logical and soundproof, but Mustang agreed with Ed. He knows that he'll be regretting it sooner or later, but he has to respect their wishes. She's right. It's _their _war. Their involvement could most likely ruin the larger plan that they had manifested over the years.

Four days, Mustang counted off. Just four more days until that day comes. Until one of three things can happen: They go home, they die, or they get stranded in a world that is war torn and damaged beyond repair.

A sudden weight on his shoulder pulled him out of his grim thoughts, and the all around giggling made him blink back into reality. His exhaustion finally catching up to him, Edward had passed out on the couch beside Mustang, his head dropping onto his superior officer's shoulder.

"Oh, for the love of…" Mustang shook his shoulder, rousing Ed. "Get up, Ed. You are _not _using me as a pillow. Your head's heavier than your automail."

Ed picked his head up, blinking lazily. "You're not comfortable, anyways…" he slurred, scratching his eyes.

"Go to your bed and sleep. You look like a walking corpse."

Ed "Hmm"ed, trudging out of the room without glancing at anyone, his sleep-ridden mind still anchored in dream world. Iroh chuckled when he heard the bedroom door close, "What a character he is."

"You should see his brother," Mustang murmured.

Toph blanched. "There's _two _of him?"

Roy shook his head with a laugh. "The complete _opposite. _I swear to you, Alphonse is a walking ray of sunshine. It still boggles me how they're related."

"They don't look the same?" Katara asked.

Mustang faltered at the question. The only time he'd seen Al's body was from brief glances of photographs at the Rockbell house, but those were brief, and he barely remembered it. All he remembered was Al's short hair and chubby cheeks.

"They do," Mustang said slowly. "To some extent."

"How long have you known Ed?" This girl was all questions, Mustang thought. "You both seem like you've known each other for a while."

Mustang had to actually think about the answer before finally replying, "I believe almost two years? I initially met him three years ago, only for a few moments. One year later and I was stuck with him."

"That must have been fun for you," Toph drawled.

"You have no idea."

Another question was forming in their heads – although Mustang thought his clipped answers would hint that he wasn't about to create an open gossip circle of Ed's life – when Katara suddenly stood up with a loud, "Oh!"

Sokka asked, "What's up?"

She looked sheepish. "I forgot to look at Ed's shoulder. He wouldn't let me before, so now's a perfect chance to corner him."

Roy was annoyed, "His shoulder…?"

"Ah – of course, he probably wouldn't have wanted you to know. He got it cut when he had that fight with Azula. I was treating it before, but I didn't get to finish."

"I knew he was hiding something from me," Roy grumbled. When he saw Katara leaving the room, most likely heading to Ed's, he called after her, "Be careful, Ed's jumpy when he wakes up."

"Got it!"

* * *

.

* * *

The door didn't creak when she pushed it open, she made sure of it. She held the knob and opened it stiffly, as quietly as possible. She stepped on the floorboards with expert swiftness, her toes touching down first, then her heel.

The light from the open door flooded the room with a dull, orange tint. With the added visibility, Katara could dimly make out the lump on the bed that rose and fell. Ed's blonde hair that was tucked between the pillows shone along with the orange light, making it seem heavenly and fiery at the same time.

Katara approached the bed quietly. She was used to sneaking around in the dark, so her muted motions became almost habit. But she wanted to speak to Ed, heal him, so it seemed unnecessary to be quiet, much less not wake him. The rational option here would be to leave Edward as is, to let him sleep, since she could not accomplish anything while he was unconscious.

But something about the speed of which the lump rose and fell disturbed her. It was too quick. Too tremulous.

She'd seen the symptoms before. Nightmares. On some dark nights, Aang would sleep the same way; curled in on himself, fast, shuddering breathes, white knuckles wrapped around blankets. She would awake Aang with a shake, calling his name, and his eyes would snap open, his breathe would hitch, and his eyes would train on her for a confused moment before they settled in recognition. He would shudder a relieved sigh, and timidly ask Katara if she could stay with him until he fell asleep. She would smile, and oblige without hesitation.

Such was not the case for Edward.

She should have realized that Ed was not Aang in many ways, especially this. It would be in this moment that Katara would come to the realization that, even with the time spent together, she did not know Edward in the slightest.

She tried to wake him from his nightmare. From the hell that tormented him from his sleep. That was her first mistake.

She shook him by the shoulder, the flesh one. Beneath the thin clothes she can feel his sweat drenched skin, the touch leaving her with a slight chill. The response was none. Ed simply scrunched, brow furrowed.

"Ed," she called, loud enough for him to hear but low enough for the others to not. Ed made a strangled noise from the back of his throat, close to a whimper. Her heart broke at the sound.

"Ed, come on, wake up." She shook harder, concentrating on his pinched face, waiting for it to smooth over when he opens his eyes. But they remained shut. She called again, louder, more firmly, "Edw—"

He sat up in a snap. Blankets flew off the bed. A sweaty palm grabbed her wrist roughly.

Katara didn't even have time to breathe before blue light lit up the room and something cold and sharp was pressed against her neck.

She froze. Wild, golden, dilated, eyes stared back at her's. She didn't dare breathe. The only sound in the room was Ed's labored breathing.

His arm was a blade. She didn't even notice the transmutation. It was a blade and it was on her neck, painfully so. She could feel the blood running down her neck, a tiny trickle. She was afraid to swallow. Afraid to breathe. Afraid to blink.

Ed was staring at her, wide eyed, as if she were the harborer of all his misery. Pale faced, cold sweat, still as a statue. He wasn't awake, Katara told herself. He's still asleep.

She worked her mouth, slowly, cautiously. "Ed..." She whispered the word, almost breathed it. The orange light from the open door flooded Ed's eyes with a blaze of gold.

Then Ed blinked. His eyes softened. His brow smoothed over, then furrowed in confusion.

He gasped. Pulled his hand away quickly. His snarl turned to a horrified gape. His eyes widened in horror. He recoiled so violently that his back slammed to the headboard.

Katara finally breathed. She raised a shaky hand to her neck. The cut was thin, but her fingers still returned coated with some blood.

There was a flash of blue light and the blade became an arm again, and Ed was saying in a panicky, shrill voice, "K-Katara! I'm so sorry — I'm sorry, I'm _sorry_! I didn't mean to, I swear! Shit — _fuck_! I'm sorry! Oh god, shit, _shit_. I'm sorry, Katara, I really am!"

Everything was happening so quickly that she couldn't register anything. She stared at him. Then blinked. Then became aware.

She tried to wipe the look of fear from her face. She knew it wasn't helping the situation any. She tried a smile. It faltered. Ed was shaking. His face was immensely pale. Shame and guilt plastered his expression.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry, Katara. I had no idea, please — _shit_. It's bleeding. Does it hurt? Is it bad? I'm sorry, I really am."

"It's fine," she finally rasped. She grabbed his hands, quieting the tremors. She looked into his eyes. "Ed, it's okay. I'm okay. It's fine."

"It's not — it's not fine. I screwed up, I hurt you. Oh god, I knew this would happen — I knew it. _Shit—!"_

"Ed..." she started, but stopped when his eyes kept lingering on her neck, on the blood. She cupped the cut with a hand. He looked away, swallowing.

He was breathing too quickly. Hyperventilating, perhaps? A close second. She raised her hand slowly to cup his cheek, to place on his shoulder, to offer a comforting gesture, but Edward flinched. She flinched along with him. Studying Ed's, all she could do was frown. This was the side of Ed she didn't know. This was the side he was hiding from her — from them.

"I'm gonna wash up," she said instead. Ed looked like a cornered animal; frightened and frazzled. She wouldn't know how to approach him because — she swallowed thickly — she didn't know him well enough. As much as she tried to tell herself that she was able to get through to him, to have him gain their trust, deep down she knew it was untrue. He was a mystery, and would remain so.

But Mustang knows Ed. He would know what to do.

She stood up. Turned to the door. She froze. Her heart skipped a beat. Aang was standing at the door. His eyes bulging freightingly

_"What did you do to her!?"_

* * *

.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Thousand apologies to the late update. As it would seem, I had many problems to tackle - working to pay for prom, graduation, college paperwork, losing my friend to cancer, getting a new laptop - so I was away from my laptop. But I really won't give up on this story, promise! Your loyalty to this story made me loyal to you guys, therefore I will continue! Unfortunately, there will be a halt; I will be going away to Palestine tomorrow for a month and a half (returning Aug. 20th), and if anyone know anything about Palestine, it's that WiFi is the least of their worries. Please be patient! I will return! Thank you for reviewing/alerting/favoriting this story!

**Author's Note (2):**

The three symbols - There is a link on my page that will show you what each symbol looks like that. The Dharma Chakra and the Sri Yantra are real symbols that are used in the Hindu religion, since many things in the Avatar universe is derived from the Hindu religion. The Letra Arma I just made up.

* * *

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Next Chapter:_ The Dawning Dusk_

- _Iroh explains it all_


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